Syria’s capital now cut off from Bashar al-Assad’s coastal strongholds as insurgents advance from north, south and east
- Middle East crisis: latest news updates
The Syrian army has withdrawn from Homs city in central Syria ahead of a rebel offensive on Saturday night, cutting off Damascus from Bashar al-Assad’s coastal strongholds as a lightning offensive brought rebel factions to the besieged president’s doorstep.
Videos showed Syrian forces withdrawing from security branches in Homs as insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered city limits. The rebel commander Hassan Abdul-Ghani said that its forces were conducting “combing operations” in the city neighbourhoods to find any Syrian soldiers that remained.
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