Syrian rebels close in on central city of Homs as thousands flee lightning advance

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.

Future of Assad regime ‘all depends on Russia’

Whether or not Mr Assad’s regime falls now “all depends on Russia” and whether it continues to prop up the Syrian government, according to Dr Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at Chatham House.

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.