Homs falls: Rebels capture strategic city and put Assad under pressure!

Homs falls: Rebels capture strategic city and put Assad under pressure!

The situation in Syria is deteriorating dramatically: the strategically important city of Homs has now fallen completely under the control of the Syrian rebels. According to a spokesman for the rebel alliance, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the city of over a million inhabitants was conquered and 3,500 prisoners were freed from a military prison. Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government troops have withdrawn from Homs, with some officers fleeing to the coast in helicopters. Syria's third-largest city plays a crucial role as it lies between the coastal stronghold of government forces and the capital Damascus. “Whoever wins the battle for Homs will rule Syria,” said Rami Abdel-Rahman of the Syrian Observatory shz.de reported.

The route to the capital Damascus

With the fall of Homs, the rebels are now pushing further towards Damascus. Activists report that government forces have also withdrawn from suburbs of the capital, retreating about six miles closer to Texas. However, while the upper hand in the conflict is clearly shifting in favor of the rebels, the Syrian government denied these withdrawals and claimed that President Assad was still working in Damascus. Many of the population fear the emergence of rebels in the city, so many families have already fled from the president's entourage Daily Mirror determines.

Continuing their offensive strategy, rebels reported entering several Damascus suburbs. However, the Syrian military says it is withdrawing to a new defensive position. These developments could have far-reaching consequences for the Syrian civil war, which has been ongoing since 2011 and has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 civilians, according to the UN. As rebels continue to push for political and military control, a crucial turning point in the civil war could be imminent.