After seizing two other major cities in a lightning offensive that has reignited the civil war after more than a decade and called into question the future of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syrian jihadist rebels are now reportedly closing in on Homs.
The insurgents secured yet another victory on Thursday when Syrian government forces withdrew from the city of Hama, following their seizure of Aleppo last week.
The rebel advances have revealed the vulnerability of the Assad regime and increased the risks for his primary supporters, Russia and Iran, who have assisted in his retention of power.
A regime that has thus far been unable to mobilize a response to the insurgent advance may find the impending battle for Homs to be decisive.
Assad’s forces appeared to be losing control of other regions of the nation as they frantically defended core strategic areas.
Homs is currently the sole significant city in government control on the road that connects rebel-held regions in northern Syria to the capital, Damascus.
The regime would be unable to access its loyalist heartland and Russian military bases on the Mediterranean coast if it were to maintain control over the city of approximately 800,000 residents.
In the east, insurgents supported by the United States entered the city of Deir Ezzor and other regions that had been abandoned by government forces west of the Euphrates River.
Russia and China encouraged their citizens to evacuate the country while commercial flights were still operational as the insurgents gained momentum.
The swiftness of the offensive, which is being led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has taken Syrians and external observers by surprise.
Following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, Assad won significant victories as Russia and Iran assisted him in reclaiming 70% of the country’s territory.
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