Syrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Damascus, their first advance near the capital since 2018, while Syrian state media denied rumors of Assad’s escape.
ADVERTISEMENTSyrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Damascus as part of a fast-moving offensive on the capital. In recent days, those groups have captured several of Syria’s largest cities across the country.
Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency denied rumors that President Bashar al-Assad had left the country and said he was at work in Damascus.
It was the first time opposition forces reached the outskirts of the Syrian capital since 2018, when Syrian troops retook the region near the capital after a years-long siege.
It came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern Syria on Saturday, leaving several areas of the country, including the two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.
The rebels’ rapid advance is a stunning turnaround for the Syrian president, who appears to be on his own with allies like Russia and Hezbollah preoccupied with other conflicts.
Rebels are closing in on key areas
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, the rebel commander, announced on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun carrying out the “final phase” of their offensive encircling Damascus. He added that the rebels moved from southern Syria towards Damascus.
The Syrian army, meanwhile, has sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as militants close in on its outskirts.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, reported on Saturday that Iranian military advisers had begun to leave Syria. He added that Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria, mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, had retreated to central Syria.
The shock offensive began on November 27, led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which captured the northern city of Aleppo before taking the central city of Hama.
With the fall of the cities of Daraa and Sweida early Saturday, Syrian government forces remain in control of five major cities – Damascus, Homs, Quneitra, as well as Latakia and Tartus on the Mediterranean coast.
Tartus is home to a Russian naval base, while Latakia hosts a significant Russian air base.
If the rebels take Homs, they would sever the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal regions where the president enjoys wide support.
A threat to the ‘territorial integrity’ of Syria
In the gas-rich country of Qatar, the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey were due to meet to discuss the situation in Syria. Turkey, meanwhile, is a key supporter of rebels seeking to topple Assad.
Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for not addressing the country’s core problems in recent years. “Assad has not taken this opportunity to begin to engage and rebuild his relationship with his people,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised at how quickly the rebels had advanced and said there was a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity”, adding that the war could damage and destroy what is left to launch a political process.
ADVERTISEMENTWhere are the Kurds in all this?
On Friday, fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured large parts of the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq, as well as the provincial capital of the same name.
The capture of the Deir el-Zour area is a blow to Iran’s influence in the region, as the area is the gateway to the corridor linking the Mediterranean to Iran, a supply line for Iran-backed fighters, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
While the SDF takes control of the main border crossing with Iraq and opposition fighters do the same at the Naseeb border crossing with Jordan in southern Syria, the government’s only gateway to the outside world is through the Masnaa border crossing with Lebanon.
Since the conflict in Syria broke out in March 2011, the Syrian government has called the opposition terrorists. HTS was formed from a former branch of al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the United Nations.
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