Syrian rebels drove pro-government forces out of Hama on Thursday (5/12), achieving a significant new victory after a lightning advance in northern Syria and dealing another blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.
The Syrian army announced that the rebels had entered Hama following intense clashes, stating that it was withdrawing from the city “to safeguard civilian lives and prevent urban warfare.”
The rebels reported that they had seized neighbourhoods in the northeastern part of the city and the central prison, releasing detainees.
Al Jazeera broadcast footage purportedly showing rebels inside the city, some interacting with civilians near a roundabout, while others drove military vehicles and motorbikes.
The rebels captured Aleppo, Syria’s major northern city, last week and have since advanced southwards from their enclave in northwestern Syria. By Tuesday, they had reached a strategic hill just north of Hama and by Wednesday were advancing on the eastern and western outskirts of the city.
Hama had remained under government control throughout the civil war, which began in 2011 as an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Its fall to a resurgent rebellion would deliver a significant shock to Damascus and its Russian and Iranian allies.
The city is located more than one-third of the way along the route from Aleppo to Damascus. Its capture would pave the way for the rebels to advance on Homs, a key central city that serves as a crossroads connecting Syria’s most populated regions.
Also read: Key Syrian city surrounded from “three sides
Photo source: Reuters
Source: CNN.gr
