While a week ago the Syrian rebels only controlled the northwestern province of Idlib, after taking Aleppo and Hama they are at the doors of Homs on Friday. It is the third city that the group led by al-Jolani has threatened to take since November 27. Below is an overview of today’s most important developments.
Strategic Homs
The Syrian rebel groups of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are already at the doors of the city of Homs just a day after capturing the city of Hama. The capture of Homs is an important strategic step for the rebels. If captured, the capital Damascus will be cut off from the coast, where Assad’s Russian allies have a naval and air base. The HTS’s ultimate goal of overthrowing President Assad is getting closer. Thousands of Syrians have now fled the city to escape the impending war.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian government forces have now withdrawn from Homs. Director Rami Abdel Rahane states that Syrian soldiers have now withdrawn to the suburbs. The Syrian Ministry of Defense denies this.
Soldiers withdraw
Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany has called on the highest military officers of the Syrian army to defect to the side of the rebels, according to the Reuters news agency. He did so in a video statement broadcast on Friday.
Jordan has now closed its border with Syria. The Jordanian Ministry of the Interior reported this on Friday. According to a Reuters source from the Syrian army, armed groups have shot at Syrian army posts at the Nassib border crossing into Jordan.
Eastern Syria
In eastern Syria, the city of Deir ez-Zor has fallen from President Bashar al-Assad. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on Friday. The rebels are not responsible for this, but the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is supported by the United States. This mainly Kurdish group controls much of eastern Syria and previously opposed Turkey and the Islamic State (IS). According to an Iraqi security source, the SDF is also advancing towards the Syrian town of Albukamal, on the border with Iraq.
