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BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of group fled nan cardinal Syrian metropolis of Homs, nan country’s 3rd largest, arsenic insurgents seized 2 towns connected nan outskirts Friday, positioning themselves for an battle connected a perchance awesome prize successful their march against President Bashar Assad.
The move, reported by pro-government media and an guidance warfare monitor, was nan latest successful nan stunning advances by guidance fighters complete nan past week that person truthful acold met small guidance from Assad’s forces. A time earlier, fighters captured nan cardinal metropolis of Hama, Syria’s 4th largest, aft nan service said it withdrew to debar fighting wrong nan metropolis and spare nan lives of civilians.
The insurgents, led by nan jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, aliases HTS, person vowed to march to Homs and nan capital, Damascus, Assad’s spot of power. Videos circulating online showed a road jammed pinch cars afloat of group fleeing Homs, a metropolis pinch a ample organization belonging to Assad’s Alawite sect, seen arsenic his halfway supporters.
If Assad’s subject loses Homs, it could beryllium a crippling blow. The city, parts of which were controlled by insurgents until 2014, stands astatine an important intersection betwixt Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, wherever Assad enjoys wide support. Homs state is Syria’s largest successful size and borders Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
via Associated Press
Pressure connected nan authorities intensified from aggregate directions.
Opposition protesters stormed information posts and service positions successful nan confederate state of Sweida, guidance activists said. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces who power eastbound and northeastern Syria began to encroach connected government-held territory.
Offensive leaves Assad reliant connected Russia
After years of mostly being bottled up successful a northwest area of nan country, nan insurgents burst retired a week ago, captured nan bluish metropolis of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and person kept advancing since. Government troops person many times fallen back.
The abrupt violative has flipped nan tables connected a long-entrenched stalemate successful Syria’s astir 14-year-old civilian war. Along pinch HTS, nan fighters see forces of an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called nan Syrian National Army. Turkey has denied backing nan offensive, though experts opportunity insurgents would not person launched it without nan country’s consent.
HTS’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, told CNN successful an exclusive question and reply Thursday from Syria that Assad’s authorities was connected nan way to falling, propped up only by Russia and Iran.
“The seeds of nan regime’s conclusion person ever been wrong it,” he said. “But nan truth remains, this authorities is dead.”
A cardinal mobility astir Assad’s expertise to conflict backmost is really overmuch apical state Russia — whose troops backmost Assad’s forces — will propulsion support his measurement astatine a clip erstwhile it is tied up successful nan warfare successful Ukraine.
via Associated Press
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he planned to talk nan developments successful Syria pinch his Turkish and Iranian counterparts astatine a gathering Friday successful nan Qatari capital, Doha.
In an question and reply pinch erstwhile Fox News big Tucker Carlson, he said world actors were backing nan insurgents’ advances and that he would talk “the measurement to trim nan channels of financing and arming them.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s embassy successful Syria issued a announcement reminding Russian citizens that they whitethorn usage commercialized flights to time off nan state “in position of nan difficult military-political situation.”
The overseas ministers of Iran, Iraq and Syria — 3 adjacent friends — gathered Friday successful Baghdad to consult connected nan quickly changing war. Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh said nan existent developments whitethorn airs “a superior threat to nan information of nan region arsenic a whole.”
Assad opponents move successful center, southbound and east
The insurgent fighters connected Friday took complete nan cardinal towns of Rastan and Talbiseh, putting them 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Homs, according to nan Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an guidance warfare monitor.
“The conflict of Homs is nan mother of each battles and will determine who will norm Syria,” said Rami Abdurrahman, nan Observatory’s chief.
Pro-government Sham FM said nan insurgents entered Rastan and Talbiseh without facing immoderate resistance. There was nary contiguous remark from nan Syrian military.
The Observatory said Syrian troops had near Homs. But nan subject denied that successful comments reported by nan authorities news agency SANA, saying troops were reinforcing their positions successful nan metropolis and were “ready to repel” immoderate assault.
via Associated Press
In eastbound Syria, nan Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces conjugation said it had moved into nan government-held half of nan metropolis of Deir el-Zour, apparently without resistance. One of nan main cities successful nan east, Deir el-Zour had agelong been divided betwixt nan authorities connected nan occidental broadside of nan Euphrates River and nan SDF connected nan eastbound side.
The SDF besides said it took power of further parts of nan separator pinch Iraq. That appeared to bring it person to nan government-held Boukamal separator crossing. The crossing is simply a captious for nan authorities because it is nan gateway to nan corridor to Iran, a proviso statement for Iran-backed fighters, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
At nan aforesaid time, insurgents seized Syria’s sole crossing to Jordan, according to guidance activists. Jordan announced it was closing its broadside of nan crossing. Lebanon besides closed each but 1 of its separator crossings pinch Syria.
Worsening system could wounded Assad’s warfare effort
The guidance battle has struck a rustle to Syria’s already decrepit economy. On Friday, nan U.S. dollar was trading connected Syria’s parallel marketplace for astir 18,000 pounds, a 25% driblet from a week ago. When Syria’s conflict erupted successful March 2011, a dollar was weighted astatine 47 pounds.
The driblet further undermines nan purchasing powerfulness of Syrians astatine a clip erstwhile the U.N. has warned that 90% of nan organization is beneath nan poorness line.
Syria’s system has been hammered for years by nan war, Western sanctions, corruption and an economical meltdown successful neighboring Lebanon, Syria’s main gross to nan extracurricular world.
Damascus residents told The Associated Press that group are rushing to markets to bargain food, fearing further escalation.
The worsening system could beryllium undermining nan expertise of Syria’s subject to fight, arsenic nan worth of soldiers’ salaries melts distant while nan insurgents are flush pinch cash.
Syria’s subject has not appeared to put up a cohesive counteroffensive against nan guidance advances. SANA connected Friday quoted an unnamed subject charismatic arsenic saying nan Syrian and Russian aerial forces were striking insurgents successful Hama province, sidesplitting dozens of fighters.
Syria’s defense curate said successful a televised connection precocious Thursday that authorities forces withdrew from Hama arsenic “a impermanent tactical measure” and vowed to summation backmost mislaid areas.
“We are successful a bully position connected nan ground,” Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas said, saying troops remained “at nan gates of Hama.” He said earlier nan guidance precocious further southbound toward Homs.
He said nan insurgents, whom he described arsenic “takfiri” aliases Muslim extremists, are backed by overseas countries. He did not sanction nan countries but appeared to beryllium referring to Turkey and nan United States.
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Associated Press writers Albert Aji successful Damascus, Syria, and Suzan Fraser successful Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
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