Rebels have captured several major cities amid Syria’s civil war. Syrian opposition activists and rebel commanders made the claim on Saturday. On the other hand, information has also surfaced that the President has fled the country. Syria’s state media has denied rumors circulating on social media that President Bashar al-Assad has left the country. He said he was carrying out his duties in the capital Damascus. Let us tell you that this is the first time since 2018 that the rebels in the country have reached the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
Fighting between anti-government forces and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces is now intensifying. Earlier on Sunday, rebels announced they had taken full control of the main city of Homs, marking a major assault on President al-Assad’s 24-year rule. Not only this, the rebels fired in the air and tore down posters of the Syrian president while celebrating their victory.
Know the status so far in 10 points
- The rebel offensive comes after the Syrian army withdrew from large parts of southern Syria on Saturday, leaving most of the country, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.
- Rami Abdurahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said rebels were now active and advancing in the Damascus suburbs of Madamiya, Jaramana and Daraya. He said opposition fighters were also advancing from eastern Syria to the Damascus suburb of Harasta on Saturday.
- Abdurrahman said rebel commander Hassan Abdul-Ghani posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final phase” of their campaign to encircle Damascus. Rebels are advancing from southern Syria towards Damascus.
- Meanwhile, the Syrian army withdrew from large parts of southern Syria on Saturday, leaving much of the country, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. Army and opposition war monitors have given this information.
- Troops have been pulled back from Dara’a and Sweda provinces as rebels advance to its outskirts, the Syrian army has sent a large number of troops to protect Syria’s third-largest city of Homs. The Britain-based Observatory said Syrian troops had withdrawn from both southern provinces and were sending troops into Homs, where fighting was expected.
- The Syrian army said in a statement on Saturday that it had redeployed troops to Sweda and Darara after militants attacked their positions. Rebels have captured Syria’s fourth-largest city, Hama. The army said it had withdrawn from the city to avoid internal fighting and save civilian lives.
- Rebels led by the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS) have vowed to march on Homs and the capital Damascus. HTS chief Abu Mohammad al-Golani said in an exclusive interview with CNN from Syria on Thursday that the attack was aimed at removing Assad’s government from power.
- UN Special Envoy for Syria Ger Pedersen has called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition” in Syria. Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the talks in Switzerland will discuss the implementation of a UN resolution for a Syrian-led political process.
- Resolution No. 2254, passed in 2015, called for the establishment of a governing body, the drafting of a new constitution, and the holding of elections under the supervision of the United Nations. Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the decline in conflict incidents in recent years to solve the country’s problems.
- Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels had advanced and said they were a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity”. He said that if no readiness is shown to start a political process, the conflict can do a lot of damage.
(Input-PTI)
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