The Islamist insurgent groups announced this Friday their advance towards Homsa strategic city in the center of Syriaafter capturing Hama a day earlier. This movement intensifies its offensive against the Bashar al Assad’s governmentmarking a new challenge in the Syrian conflict.
“We are advancing towards Homs with determination, thank God, and supported by the arrival of convoys with hundreds of displaced people from the city,” reported the Military Operations Command of the insurgent coalition led by the Levant Liberation Organization, a splinter of the former Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda.
On Thursday, insurgents declared they had “completely” taken the city of Hama, in an action that represents a significant advance toward control of the country’s central regions.
For his part, the Syrian Defense Minister, Ali Mahmoud Abbasdownplayed the loss of Hama by calling it “a temporary tactical measure.” He called on the population to remain calm and trust in the Army’s ability to regain control.
The possible capture of Homs, located in the strategic M5 motorway connecting the south and north of Syria, could deal a serious blow to the Al Assad government. Its loss would further isolate Damascus and complicate land connections to Tartus, a key regime stronghold.
The fall of Hama represents the second provincial capital that the insurgents, backed by Turkey, have managed to take in just over a week, after taking control of Aleppo, the second most important city in Syria, last Friday.
The current offensive is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition considered successor to the al-Nusra frontthe former arm of Al-Qaeda in Syria. Since 2017, HTS has tried to disassociate itself from its extremist roots, exerting its influence in the north of the country through the so-called Syrian Salvation Governmenta local administration in charge of managing civil services such as economy, health and education.
At the same time, the Syrian National Armya Turkish-backed coalition that brings together Islamist factions, nationalists and former remnants of the Free Syrian Armyhas moved towards Tel Rifaat, a town controlled by Kurdish forces with the support of the United States.
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