Syrian rebel forces are closing in on the central city of Homs as they push to take control of the country’s third-largest city, according to pro-government media and an opposition war monitor.

Insurgents in the Middle Eastern country entered the towns of Rastan and Talbiseh the day after they captured Syria’s fourth-largest city Hama.

It is part of a lightning offensive led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which said it will march on Homs and then the capital Damascus, where President Bashar al Assad has consolidated power.

Homs sits on a major crossroads in Syria, linking Damascus to the north and Syria’s Mediterranean coast provinces of Latakia and Tartus, where the majority back Mr Assad and where his ally Russia has a naval base and air base.

The capture of the two towns puts the rebels within three miles (5km) of Homs, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The battle of Homs is the mother of all battles and will decide who will rule Syria,” said the monitor’s chief, Rami Abdulrahman.

The insurgents entered the towns without any resistance, according to pro-government Sham FM.

State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official saying Syrian and Russian air forces were attacking rebels in Hama province and had killed dozens of fighters.

The fall of Hama sent thousands of Homs residents loyal to Mr Assad fleeing towards Damascus and the coastal region, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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He told Sky News that HTS had spent the last four years getting ready for its lightning campaign by “equipping, training and preparing itself”, in contrast to Mr Assad’s forces, which he said were “poorly resourced, poorly trained and demotivated”.

“Damascus is clearly in its sights and unless Russia comes in at the last minute, and given that the Russian embassy has told Russians to evacuate the country immediately, it seems that the regime may well fall,” he said.

“We could expect a much longer bloodier battle than we’ve seen at present,” he added. “I would think that the Assad regime will fall, but it all depends on Russia.”

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On Thursday a Syrian rebel who took part in the offensive on Hama told Sky News the fight to push on will continue.

“Just as we liberated Aleppo and now Hama, we will proceed to Homs, and Damascus, and Deir el Zor,” he said.

He also claimed to have received support from the people in Hama.

Government forces’ withdrawal ‘a tactical measure’

Syria’s defence minister said the withdrawal of government forces from Hama was a tactical measure and vowed the government would win back the areas it had lost.

General Ali Mahmoud Abbas said in a televised statement late on Thursday the insurgents, who he described as “takfiri” or Muslim extremists, were being backed by foreign countries – in an apparent reference to Turkey – the main backer of the opposition – and the United States.

“We are in a good position on the ground,” General Abbas added, saying the Syrian army’s withdrawal from Hama was “a temporary tactical measure and our forces are at the gates of Hama”.

He made the remarks before the rebels marched south of Hama towards Homs.

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Elite Hezbollah forces cross into Syria

Iran has provided significant support to Mr Assad during the country’s 13-year civil war.

Elite forces from the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah have crossed into Syria from Lebanon overnight to take up positions in Homs, a Syrian military officer and two regional officials told Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile the head of the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said the Islamic State group, which captured and ruled over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before it was defeated by a US-led coalition in 2017, had taken control of some areas in eastern Syria.

“Due to the recent developments, there is increased movement by Islamic State mercenaries in the Syrian desert, in the south and west of Deir el Zor and the countryside of al Raqqa,” said the head of the force, Mazloum Abdi, making reference to areas in the east of the country.

It comes after rebels led by HTS and Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army captured much of Syria’s largest city of Aleppo last weekend, reigniting Syria’s civil war, after front lines had largely remained unchanged over the last four years.

Mr Assad was able to cling to power largely through the help of his allies, Russia and Iran, though both countries and Hezbollah have been distracted by their own wars, with Russia preoccupied with its invasion of Ukraine since 2022 and Hezbollah in Lebanon suffering heavy losses in its war with Israel.

South Korea’s president needs to be removed from power after his shock decision to impose martial law this week, the country’s ruling party leader has said.

Yoon Suk Yeol rescinded the declaration six hours later on Tuesday, but protesters and opposition MPs have called for him to be impeached, with a vote due on Saturday.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon had said they are against impeachment, but he suggested that may change in light of “credible evidence” the president planned to arrest political leaders.

“I believe that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s immediate suspension of office is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people in light of the newly revealed facts,” he said.

He did not explicitly call for impeachment, but claimed the president had ordered the arrest of prominent politicians on the grounds they were among “anti-state forces”.

The presidential office later denied any such order had been given, according to the Yonhap news agency, while the government said it was not preparing another martial law declaration.

Fearing another attempt to declare martial law, opposition politicians were rotating through parliament’s hall to block any attempt, a Democratic Party official said.

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It’s unclear if the president was meant to arrive at the National Assembly, where protesters have gathered to call for his impeachment.

For an impeachment to pass, the bill would need support from two-thirds of the 300-member assembly.

As the president’s party has 108 politicians, eight would need to side with the opposition for the bill to succeed.

If the president is impeached, he would be suspended until a trial can be held at the Constitutional Court, while the prime minister would serve as acting leader.

Meanwhile, the national police is investigating the president and Kim Yong-hyun, the defence minister who resigned after allegedly encouraging martial law.

Broadcaster YTN reported government and military prosecutors are also carrying out a joint investigation, while South Korea’s defence ministry said on Friday it has suspended three commanders.

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The country’s special warfare commander, Kwak Jong-geun, claimed he defied an order from the former defence minister to drag politicians out of parliament. Instead, he said, he ordered troops not to enter.

“I knew it would be disobedience, but I did not order that mission,” he told an opposition politician’s YouTube channel, adding he ordered against carrying live ammunition.

“I told them not to go in.”

Three climbers missing for five days during an ascent on New Zealand’s tallest mountain are believed to be dead.

The men’s bodies have not been found, but police inspector Vicki Walker said the search on Aoraki is over after drone operators spotted footprints in the snow and found items believed to belong to the men.

She said the search would resume if more evidence came to light, but the men’s deaths had been referred to a coroner five days on from their disappearance.

“We believe they have taken a fall,” she added, listing the number of days they’ve been missing, the lack of communication and the items found as reasons to assume the worst.

“We do not believe the men have survived.”

Americans Kurt Blair, 56, and Carlos Romero, 50, were certified alpine guides, according to the Mountain Guides Association.

The third man, a Canadian, has not been named at the request of his family.

The trio flew to a hut partway up the mountain on Saturday to begin their climb and were reported missing on Monday, when they didn’t meet their pre-arranged transport.

Hours later, a rescue party found several climbing-related items believed to belong to the men, but no sign of them.

Amid adverse weather conditions, the search stalled for three days before drone operators spotted footprints in the snow on Friday and more items such as clothing, an ice axe and energy gels.

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More than 240 deaths have been recorded on the mountain – also known as Mount Cook – and surrounding national park since the turn of the century.

Aoraki is 3,724 metres (12,218ft) high and is part of the Southern Alps, the scenic and icy mountain range spanning the length of New Zealand’s South Island.

The peak is a popular climb, but its terrain is technically difficult because of crevasses, avalanche risk, weather and glacier movement.