A military vehicle belonging to the Syrian regime forces and seized by anti government forces burns after it was hit by regime forces, in the Hama governorate, on December 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Islamist-led rebels entered Syria’s third city Homs late Saturday (December 7, 2024) taking control of some districts, a war monitor said, drawing a swift denial from the defence ministry.

FOLLOW MORE:Syria civil war LIVE updates: Syrian rebels captures Homs central prison; Syrian government forces withdraw

The loss of Homs would be another major blow to the forces of President Bahar al-Assad, as it lies at a strategic crossroads between Damascus and his stronghold on the Mediterranean coast.

“Rebel factions entered the city of Homs and took control of some neighbourhoods after the withdrawal of security forces and the army from their last positions in the city,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hundreds of detainees had escaped from the city’s central prison, he added.

The defence ministry countered that the city remained under its control, its troops maintaining their positions around the city.

“The reports published by media platforms affiliated to terrorist organisations about the entry of terrorists into the city of Homs are baseless,” it said in a statement.

“The situation is secure and stable, and our armed forces are deployed around the city positioned on solid defence lines.”

AFP has been unable to independently verify some of the information provided by the government and the rebels, as its journalists cannot reach some of the areas where the rebels say they are present.

Syrian opposition fighters drive past a burning government armoured vehicle south of Hama, Syria, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Syrian opposition war monitor and a pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from much of the central city of Homs.

FOLLOW MORE: Syria civil war LIVE updates: Homs central prison captured by Syrian rebels; Government forces seen withdrawing

The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it.

Major blow for Syria’s Bashar Assad

Losing Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad. The city stands at an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.

Its capture is a major victory for insurgents, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said Homs falling into rebel hands would be a game-changer.

Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country.

Syrian rebels in Damascus

The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.

The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad’s government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army.