By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari
AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels introduced they gained full management over the important thing metropolis of Homs early on Sunday after solely a day of combating, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.
1000’s of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the military withdrew from the central metropolis, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial management has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the navy.
The autumn of Homs provides the insurgents management over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key freeway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal area that’s the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and the place his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.
Homs’ seize can be a robust image of the insurgent motion’s dramatic comeback within the 13-year-old battle. Swathes of Homs have been destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the military years in the past. The combating floor down the insurgents, who have been compelled out.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the primary insurgent chief, referred to as the seize of Homs a historic second and urged fighters to not hurt “those who drop their arms”.
Rebels freed 1000’s of detainees from town jail. Safety forces left in haste after burning their paperwork.
The battle for management of the nation is prone to flip rapidly to the capital. Residents of quite a few Damascus districts turned out to protest Assad on Saturday night, and safety forces have been both unwilling or unable to clamp down.
Syrian insurgent commander Hassan Abdul Ghani mentioned in a press release early Sunday that operations have been ongoing to “completely liberate” the countryside round Damascus and insurgent forces have been wanting towards the capital.
In a single suburb, a statue of Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and torn aside.
The Syrian military mentioned it was reinforcing round Damascus, and state tv reported on Saturday that Assad remained within the metropolis.
Outdoors town, rebels swept throughout the complete southwest over 24 hours and established management.
EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO ASSAD RULE
The autumn of Homs and menace to the capital pose a right away existential hazard to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade reign over Syria and the continued affect there of its most important regional backer, Iran.
International officers mentioned the federal government could also be on the snapping point. One U.S. official put the timeframe at 5 to 10 days, whereas one other mentioned Assad may very well be ousted inside the coming week.
The tempo of occasions has surprised Arab capitals and raised fears of a brand new wave of regional instability.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Russia issued a joint assertion saying the disaster was a harmful growth and calling for a political answer.
However there was no indication they agreed on any concrete steps, with the scenario inside Syria altering by the hour.
Syria’s civil conflict, which erupted in 2011 as an rebellion towards Assad’s rule, dragged in huge exterior powers, created area for jihadist militants to plot assaults world wide and despatched tens of millions of refugees into neighbouring states.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the strongest insurgent group, is the previous al Qaeda affiliate in Syria regarded by the U.S. and others as a terrorist organisation, and lots of Syrians stay fearful it is going to impose draconian Islamist rule.
Golani has tried to reassure minorities that he won’t intrude with them and the worldwide group that he opposes Islamist assaults overseas. In Aleppo, which the rebels captured per week in the past, there haven’t been reviews of reprisals.
When requested on Saturday whether or not he believed Golani, Russian International Minister Sergei Lavrov replied, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”.
ALLIES’ ROLE IN SUPPORTING ASSAD
Assad lengthy relied on allies to subdue the rebels. Russian warplanes performed bombing whereas Iran despatched allied forces together with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi militia to strengthen the Syrian navy and storm rebel strongholds.
However Russia has been targeted on the conflict in Ukraine since 2022 and Hezbollah has suffered huge losses in its personal gruelling conflict with Israel, considerably limiting its skill or that of Iran to bolster Assad.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has mentioned the U.S. shouldn’t be concerned within the battle and may “let it play out”.
Russia has a naval base and airbase in Syria that haven’t solely been necessary for its help of Assad, but in addition for its skill to mission affect within the Mediterranean and Africa.
