Opposition Troops Reach Damascus Suburbs

Syrian army abandons the key city of Homs
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 7, 2024 11:30 AM CST
Updated Dec 7, 2024 5:30 PM CST
Syrian Troops Withdraw From the South
The bodies of government soldiers lie next to an armored vehicle on a street in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, on Friday.   (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

The rebel offensive in Syria has picked up speed, with forces moving into the suburbs of the capital, Damascus. Government forces have abandoned the central city of Homs, per the AP, and the location of President Bashar Assad was unknown. The army withdrew from much of southern Syria earlier Saturday, leaving more areas of the country, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters, according to an opposition war monitor. The AP reports the redeployment away from the provinces of Daraa and Sweida came as Syria's military sent large numbers of reinforcements in the futile effort to defend Homs.

The rapid advances by insurgents is a stunning reversal of fortunes for Assad, who appears to be largely on his own, with erstwhile allies preoccupied with other conflicts. Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that Iran's military advisers have started leaving Syria. He added that Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria, mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, have withdrawn into central Syria. Officials with Iran-backed Iraqi militias said a decision hasn't been made on whether to intervene in support of Assad. "If he resists and does not allow Damascus to fall, it is possible that the Iraqi factions will intervene," one said.

The shock offensive began Nov. 27 led by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, and the central city of Hama, the country's fourth-largest city. The group has its origins in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the UN. The Syrian army said in a statement that it was setting up a "strong and coherent defensive and security belt," apparently to defend Damascus from the south. (More Syria stories.)

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