Syrian Troops Withdraw From South As They Rush To Defend Country's Third-Largest City | rssama.com

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian service withdrew from overmuch of confederate Syria connected Saturday, leaving much areas of nan country, including 2 provincial capitals, nether nan power of guidance fighters, nan subject and an guidance warfare show said.

The redeployment distant from nan provinces of Daraa and Sweida came arsenic Syria’s subject sent ample numbers of reinforcements to take sides nan cardinal cardinal metropolis of Homs, Syria’s 3rd largest, arsenic insurgents approached its outskirts.

The accelerated advances by insurgents is simply a stunning reversal of fortunes for Syria’s President Bashar Assad, who appears to beryllium largely connected his own, pinch erstwhile friends preoccupied pinch different conflicts.

His main world backer, Russia, is engaged pinch its warfare successful Ukraine, and Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah, which astatine 1 constituent sent thousands of fighters to statement up his forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict pinch Israel. Iran, meanwhile, has seen its proxies crossed nan region degraded by Israeli regular airstrikes.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads nan Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syria warfare monitor, reported Saturday that Iran’s subject advisers person started leaving Syria. He added that Iran-backed fighters successful eastbound Syria, chiefly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, person withdrawn into cardinal Syria.

The daze violative began Nov. 27 led by nan jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, aliases HTS, during which gunmen captured nan bluish metropolis of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and nan cardinal metropolis of Hama, nan country’s 4th largest city. The group has its origins successful al-Qaida and is considered a violent statement by nan U.S. and nan United Nations.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani told CNN successful an exclusive question and reply Thursday from Syria that nan purpose of nan violative is to overthrow Assad’s government.

The Britain-based Observatory said Syrian troops person withdrawn from overmuch of nan 2 confederate provinces and are sending reinforcements to Homs, wherever a conflict is looming. If nan insurgents seizure Homs, they would trim nan nexus betwixt Damascus, Assad’s spot of power, and nan coastal region wherever nan president enjoys wide support.

The Syrian service said successful a connection Saturday that it has carried retired redeployment and repositioning successful Sweida and Daraa aft its checkpoints came nether onslaught by “terrorists.” The service said it is mounting up a “strong and coherent protect and information loop successful nan area,” apparently to take sides Damascus from nan south.

Residents time off nan metropolis carrying their belongings successful nan aftermath of nan opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

via Associated Press

Syrian guidance fighters thrust on nan streets successful nan aftermath of nan opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

via Associated Press

Syrian guidance fighters thrust on nan streets successful nan aftermath of nan opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

via Associated Press

Since Syria’s conflict collapsed retired successful March 2011, nan Syrian authorities has been referring to guidance gunmen arsenic terrorists.

In nan gas-rich federation of Qatar, nan overseas ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey were scheduled to meet to talk nan business successful Syria. Turkey is simply a main backer of nan rebels seeking to overthrow Assad.

Qatar’s apical diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to return advantage of nan lull successful fighting successful caller years to reside nan country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t prehend this opportunity to commencement engaging and restoring his narration pinch his people,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed said he was amazed by really quickly nan rebels person precocious and said location is simply a existent threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said nan warfare could “damage and destruct what is near if location is nary consciousness of urgency” to commencement a governmental process.

After nan autumn of nan cities of Daraa and Sweida early Saturday, Syrian authorities forces stay successful power of 5 provincial capitals — Damascus, Homs and Quneitra, arsenic good arsenic Latakia and Tartus connected nan Mediterranean cost.

Tartus is location to nan only Russian naval guidelines extracurricular nan erstwhile Soviet Union while Latakia is location to a awesome Russian aerial base.

On Friday, U.S.-backed fighters of nan Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces captured wide parts of nan eastbound state of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq arsenic good arsenic nan provincial superior that carries nan aforesaid name. The seizure of areas successful Deir el-Zour is simply a rustle to Iran’s power successful nan region arsenic nan area is nan gateway to nan corridor linking nan Mediterranean to Iran, a proviso statement for Iran-backed fighters, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

With nan seizure of a main separator crossing pinch Iraq by nan SDF and aft guidance fighters took power of nan Naseeb separator crossing to Jordan successful confederate Syria, nan Syrian government’s only gateway to nan extracurricular world is nan Masnaa separator crossing pinch Lebanon.

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Associated Press writers Albert Aji successful Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra successful Baghdad contributed to this report.