The Syrian insurgent coalition led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and made up of rebels supported by Turkey announced this Saturday that they have taken control of the city of Homs, something that the head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has described as “historic.” The rebel forces are in the capital outskirts from Syria, Damascus. A few hours before they had already reported that they had taken control of the city of Al Sanamaynin the north of the southern province of Turn on and about 50 kilometers from the south of the capital.
“Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital Damascus,” said the rebel commander. Hasan Abdel Ghani, which is part of the alliance led by HTSA short time later, the Syrian Interior Minister, Mohamed al Rahmun, declared on television that Damascus is protected by a “military cordon” and asserted that it could not be jumped. “No one (…) can penetrate this line of defense that we, the armed forces, are putting up“.
For its part, the NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) Yeah have confirmed that government forces lost control of the province of Turn onin the south, and evacuated positions in Quneitra, near the Golan Heights annexed by Israel. , since that was where the popular revolts that spread throughout the country began in 2011 within the framework of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.
Government denies Assad’s escape
While the offensive continues to advance and gain territory abruptly, the Syrian presidency this Saturday covered up rumors about the hypothetical escape from denying that the head of the country has left the capital, but without giving more details. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense also flatly denied that the army had abandoned its positions near the city and has denounced that there are “unfounded” versions about this issue.
Tension has taken over the streets of the capital fruit of indignation and anger at the escalation of the conflict. In a Damascus suburb with a Druze and Christian majority, dozens of protesters They demolished a statue of Hafez al-Assad, father and predecessor of the current Syrian president, according to the AFP agency based on the version of two witnesses.
The same information company explains that “the situation is difficult to verify independently“AFP collaborators are in areas controlled by the rebels, but the agency does not currently have reporters near Damascus, where they claim to be.
A massive attack
In just over a week, both provincial capitals. However, the Syrian Army announced that They launched ground and air attacks, together with their ally Russia, against groups of “terrorists” both on the periphery of the provinces of Hama and Homs, in central Syria.
The opposition coalition is at the gates of the city of Homs and, if it controls it, it would further isolate Damascus, which could not have a land connection with the Mediterranean coast.
