AMMAN/BEIRUT - Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.
Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces gesture in Deir al-Zor, after U.S.-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Deir el-Zor, the government's main foothold in the vast desert, according to Syrian sources, in Syria December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
AMMAN/BEIRUT - Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Dec 8 after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus. Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.
Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement early on Dec 8 that operations were ongoing to “completely liberate” the countryside around Damascus and rebel forces were looking toward the capital. But there was no indication they agreed on any concrete steps, with the situation inside Syria changing by the hour.which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for jihadist militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states.
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