Syrian rebels have entered the central city of Hama and government forces have withdrawn, dealing another major blow to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad days after rebels seized large parts of Aleppo, the country’s largest city.
The stunning week-long offensive looks likely to continue, with rebels targeting Homs, the country’s third-largest city. Homs, which is about 40 kilometers south of Hama, is the gateway to the capital Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region that is his base of support.
The offensive is being led by the jihadist group HTS and a Turkish-backed Syrian militia group called the Syrian National Army. Their sudden capture of Aleppo, an ancient business center in the north, was a stunning reward for Assad’s opponents and reignited Syria’s civil war, which has been largely at a standstill for the past few years.
Hama is one of the few cities that has remained mostly under government control in the conflict that broke out in March 2011. after a popular uprising.
By sunset on Thursday, dozens of jubilant fighters were seen firing into the air in celebration in live footage from Assi Square in Hama. The square was the scene of massive anti-government protests in the early days of the 2011 uprising before security forces stormed it and took control of the city.
The Syrian army said it had redeployed from Hama and taken up positions outside the city to protect civilians.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the de facto leader of the Syrian rebels, announced in a video message that the fighters had reached Hama in “a conquest that is not vindictive but of mercy and compassion”.
Al-Golani is the leader of Syria’s most powerful rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which previously served as al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria and is considered a terrorist group by the United Nations as well as countries including the United States.
The group, known as the Nusra Front in the early years of Syria’s conflict, changed its name and said in recent years that it had cut ties with al-Qaida.
“This is a huge victory for the rebels and a strategic blow to the (Syrian) regime,” Dareen Khalifa, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group and an expert on Syria groups. She said the question was whether the opposition would be able to reach Homs and capture the area, which she said would be a game-changer.
“I think then we will have to stop and think whether this regime can really survive this war,” she added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country backs opposition fighters, reiterated in a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the Syrian government must urgently engage its people “for a comprehensive political solution.”
The latest flare-up in Syria’s long civil war comes as Assad’s main regional and international backers, Russia and Iran, are busy with their own wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine. This time he seemed to have little to no help from his allies.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the renewed fighting that began with the opposition’s surprise offensive on November 27.
Hama is a major crossroads in Syria, connecting the center of the country with the north, as well as east and west.
