Tens of thousands of people fled Syria's third city, Homs, on Friday December 6, while the rebels claim to have reached its outskirts, “a little over a week after the launch of their blitzkrieg” on November 27, indicates the BBC.
The progression of rebel forces towards the south continues, and Homs would be the next stop on the road to the capital Damascus, underlines the British channel.
On Thursday, the rebels seized Hama, further north, which constituted “a second hard blow for President Bashar El-Assad”after the loss of control of Aleppo, the country's second city, last week.
If the rebels manage to seize Homs, “this could constitute a decisive turning point in the battle against the regime”observe the Washington Post. “If Homs were to fall, Damascus would be cut off from the coast, cutting what remains of the regime in two”explains to the daily Charles Lister, researcher and director of the Syria program at the Middle East Institute.
“This regime is dead”
“Homs is also a central crossroads between the capital and the Syrian coast. This coastal area is a stronghold of Syria's Alawite community, a minority branch of Shiite Islam that traditionally forms the power base of the Assad political dynasty.still adds the American title.
In an exclusive interview given Friday to CNNthe leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed Al-Jawlani, at the head of the rebel coalition, has made no secret of his objectives.
“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution is to overthrow this regime. And we have the right to use any means necessary to achieve this goal”he declared. “The regime has always carried within itself the seeds of defeat. The Iranians tried to resurrect him by buying him time, and later the Russians also tried to support him. But the truth remains: this regime is dead”he asserted.
The situation in Homs remained confused Friday evening. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), based in the United Kingdom and very well informed, thus affirmed that the government forces had “removed from the city of Homs to its outskirts”according to Middle East Eye. But soon after, “the Syrian Defense Ministry said the reports were 'false' and that the army was still in place”.
Opening of a new front in the east
According to the OSDH and rebel sources, the Syrian government has also lost control of Daraa, the city “symbolic” in the south of the country, and most of the eponymous province, “which was the cradle of the 2011 uprising”note The Guardian.
“In a rare show of concern”continues the British newspaper, Russia, the main ally of the Syrian government, has asked its nationals to leave Syria.
The New York Times reports for its part that “the main patron of the government”Iran, “worried”decided to evacuate military commanders and other personnel from the country, while the rebel advance prompted Lebanon and Jordan to close their borders.
Finally, the situation also seemed critical in the East, where “the US-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken full control of the city of Deir Ezzor” after the withdrawal of government forces, reports Al-Jazeera.
According to the OSDH, the violence since the start of the rebel offensive has left at least 826 dead, while more than 370,000 people have been displaced, says the UN.
