Syrian rebels are rapidly advancing on the city of Homs, having taken control of the northern countryside amid a lightning offensive against government forces that has already seized Hama and Aleppo.
Controlling Homs would allow the opposition to cut off the main road leading to the Syrian coast, a key stronghold of president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, and pave the way for an advance on the capital Damascus.
Having seized nearby Hama on Thursday after just two days of fighting, the anti-regime forces were three miles from Homs by Friday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
This was despite attempts by Russian-backed government forces to slow the rebel advance, including the destruction of a key bridge overnight.
The rebel coalition is seeking the full overthrow of Assad and his “dead” regime, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who leads the anti-regime forces, told CNN.
“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime,” he said.
“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it… the Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: this regime is dead.”
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Hassan Abdul Ghani, a rebel coalition commander, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning that they are advancing on Homs “at a steady pace”.
Thousands of people fled the city overnight and on Friday morning, with heavy traffic reported on the road heading towards the coast.
Meanwhile, there were celebrations in Hama, with videos shared to social media showing militants shooting into the air in front of a defaced poster of Assad, promising to move on to Homs.
A large statue of the president was toppled after decades of brutal rule, with Hama the site of a 1982 massacre of an estimated 10-30,000 people.
Russian bombing meanwhile destroyed the Al-Rastan Bridge along the key M5 highway between Hama and Homs overnight to prevent rebels from using it, Syrian officials said, with barriers also erected in an attempt to slow the advance.
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Credit: Telegram / North Liberated News Network
A video appeared to show the nighttime strike on the bridge. A flash of orange light is seen illuminating the large crossing over the Orontes River, before the footage cuts to black.
Footage later posted by the rebels online appeared to show them successfully crossing the bridge despite the Russian attempt to destroy it.
Al-Rastan Bridge sits almost exactly halfway between Hama and Homs, and is around 13 miles north of Homs.
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Credit: ragipsoylu/X
In an offensive that began last week, the rebel coalition quickly took control of most of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city and the country’s economic heart before the civil war.
Hama fell days later, with the rebels capitalising on their momentum, and the weakness of Assad’s army, moving forward quickly to deny the regime the opportunity to redeploy, rearm or recruit.
Hama is a major intersection point, linking central Syria with the north, as well as the east and the west. The Hama province also borders the coastal region of Latakia, a key supporter base for Assad.
Led by HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, the alliance includes a number of disparate groups under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Forces (SDF), which holds northwest Syria, have also clashed with the rebels and are advancing amid fears Isis could take advantage of the collapsing regime as Syrian forces withdraw. The Jihadi group claimed to have captured areas in southeastern Homs.
The SDF, which is backed by the US and played a key role in fighting ISIS, controls a quarter of Syria and is considered the second-most powerful military force after the regime army. The offensive has raised questions about how the US might respond.
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Credit: X / @k7ybnd99
The new rebel offensive is the fastest advance by either the regime or the opposition since the start of the civil war almost 14 years ago and is a direct blow to Assad’s grip on power.
The protracted civil war in Syria was considered effectively over for the past four years, but the flare-up comes as Assad’s main regional and international backers, Russia and Iran, are preoccupied with wars elsewhere.
