Hours after rebel fighters stormed the strategic Syrian city of Homs, they broke through the gates of Damascus and entered the city, Reuters news agency reported.
The surprise march left President Bashar al-Assad’s government on the back foot.
The rebel move around Damascus comes after the Syrian army withdrew from much of the country’s south, leaving many areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters, according to a war monitor.
The militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said on Saturday it had taken control of the country’s largest province, Homs, which borders Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. HTS senior commander Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul-Ghani announced: “Our operations continue to liberate the entire countryside of Damascus, and our eyes are focused on the capital.” The group also claimed to have captured Sweida, Qunetra and Daraa in a 24-hour period as part of its blitzkrieg campaign.
According to two residents, intense gunfire was heard in central Damascus on Sunday morning. The source of the shooting remains unclear, but the developments come as the rebels draw closer to the capital.
What is the state of war?
Currently, the fall of Homs to the rebels is a major victory for them as they have already captured the cities of Aleppo and Hama and large parts of the south.
The fall of Homs came as a major blow to the government because it cut off Damascus from a coastal region that is a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval and air base.
For the first time in the country’s civil war, the government now controls only three of the 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus. Last week’s advance was the biggest in recent years.