Damascus: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly left Damascus as rebel forces advanced towards the capital, according to media reports.
Earlier on Saturday, the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) claimed significant gains in Damascus after announcing on Friday that its forces had entered Homs, Syria’s third-largest city and a key junction connecting Damascus to Assad’s coastal strongholds, war monitor and local media reported.
Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, confirmed that HTS and its allied factions have seized control of several neighbourhoods in Homs.
Amid the chaos, police at Homs’ central prison reportedly opened the gates, releasing all inmates, the Observatory stated.
Videos circulating on social media from the region showed a statue of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s father and predecessor, being torn down.
Meanwhile, pro-government radio station Sham FM reported that the Syrian army is redeploying units on the outskirts of Homs, though it did not clarify if any urban areas had been abandoned.
Homs, a former bastion of opposition forces in the early years of Syria’s civil war, had been under government control since 2014.
However, recent rebel advances have marked a significant shift, with HTS forces seizing Aleppo, all of Idlib province in northern Syria, and the western-central cities of Hama and Homs, culminating in their push towards Damascus.
The intensifying conflict has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting that over 370,000 people have been displaced in just one week of fighting.
The deteriorating security situation raises serious concerns about the future stability of Syria as rebels continue their offensive and government forces attempt to hold their ground.
Meanwhile, India has also issued an advisory for its citizens, warning against travelling to Syria amid the unrest.
(IANS)
