Smoke from preventing billows on the sides of Hama, Syria, Dec. 3.
Omar Albam/AP
conceal caption
toggle caption
Omar Albam/AP
Syrian opposition forces have entered the strategic central metropolis of Hama.
The Syrian military, loyal to President Bashar Assad, stated it had redeployed exterior the town, which lies on the primary freeway south resulting in the town of Homs after which to the capital Damascus.
The renewed offensive got here after the insurgent forces led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) — listed by the U.S. as a terrorist group for its previous hyperlinks to al-Qaida, although it has since minimize ties with the group — took Syria’s second metropolis of Aleppo in a lightning marketing campaign that caught the regime off guard.
The occasions of the previous week have ended years of stalemate that had led many observers to consider the Assad regime had gained the civil warfare, which broke out in 2011.
Hama has been certainly one of Syria’s few cities fully below authorities management for the reason that civil warfare broke out.
It is also a provide route utilized by Iran to maneuver arms to its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Violent clashes broke out on the jap outskirts of Hama, however Syria’s state-run media denied that the insurgents had fully breached the town.
Nonetheless, the Syrian Military issued a press release that appeared to verify the autumn of Hama, saying that “military units stationed there have been redeployed and repositioned outside the city” as a way to “preserve the lives of civilians.”
If the insurgent forces seize Hama totally, it might be a serious victory for them since they launched a shock offensive final week which noticed them take Aleppo.
This can be a creating story and can be up to date.
