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Rebel forces have begun to surround the Syrian capital Damascus as fighting rages in the key city of Homs, a sign that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule is under serious threat.
In a major development, insurgents claimed almost all of southwestern Syria on Friday and Saturday, and were now within 30 kilometers of Damascus.
Protesters in a Damascus suburb tore down and tore apart a statue of Assad’s father.
In other suburbs, soldiers put on civilian clothes and left their posts, residents told Reuters.
The Syrian army said on Saturday it was strengthening its defense lines around Damascus and in the south, as panic spread in the capital after rebels said they were closing in.
“Our armed units are strengthening their lines in the Damascus countryside and in the southern region,” a spokesperson for the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said in a televised statement.
President Assad’s office denied reports that he had fled Damascus.
The head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HST), Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, told his followers on Telegram: “Damascus is waiting for you.”
HST, which was previously affiliated with Al Qaeda, has led a rapid advance across Syria, capturing a number of major cities.
It captured the northwestern city of Aleppo a week ago and is now engaged in the battle against the Syrian army in Homs.
If the city falls, Damascus would remain isolated from the Mediterranean Sea, including a number of Russian military bases.
A resident of Homs, army and rebel sources said the insurgents had broken through government defenses from the north and east of the city.
A rebel commander said they had taken control of an army camp and villages outside the city.
State television reported that the insurgents had not entered Homs, although they said they were on the outskirts of the city, where the army attacked them with artillery and drones.
In a sign of the collapse of government forces in the east, about 2,000 Syrian soldiers crossed the border into Iraq to seek refuge, the mayor of the Iraqi border town of al-Qaem said.
Syria’s two closest allies, Russia and Iran, have helped the Assad regime recover after anti-government demonstrations in 2011 turned into a bloody civil war.
But both countries have since become involved in their own conflicts, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iranian support for Hezbollah against Israel.
The Russian military has a naval base and an air base in Syria, which have provided support to the Assad regime and helped it exert influence in the Mediterranean and Africa.
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Syria should not fall into the hands of HST.
“It is inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of territory in violation of the agreements,” Lavrov said, referring to a UN resolution recognizing the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Reuters/AFP
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