Syrian opposition forces entered the suburbs of Homs, the countryʼs third largest city.
Reuters writes about this with reference to sources.
A resident of Homs, as well as sources in the Syrian army and opposition forces, said that the rebels broke through government defenses from the north and east of the city. A rebel commander said they had taken control of a military camp and villages outside the city.
In addition, the opposition claims to have taken control of the Moluccas checkpoint, the largest and most important checkpoint, which is considered the gateway to Homs.
As The Washington Post notes, if the opposition captures Homs, it will be a significant strategic victory, as Assad-held Damascus will be cut off from the coast, and what remains of regime-controlled territory will be split in half. This can consolidate the gains of the rebels and bring them closer to taking the capital.
Meanwhile, the Nedaa Post media reports that the forces of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad are retreating from the cities of Al-Hamama and Qudsay in the suburbs of Damascus. The same media writes about the expulsion of the Syrian army from the city of Douma, which is 10 km from Damascus.
State television said the rebels had not entered Homs, although they were on the outskirts of the city, where the military hit them with artillery and drones.
Rebels said they also captured almost the entire southwest within 24 hours and advanced to within 30 km of Damascus as government forces retreated to more defensible positions.
WP also writes that Iran has begun withdrawing some of its military commanders from Syria. Iran is also evacuating diplomatic personnel and families of diplomats from Damascus.
What preceded
Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in "response to months of continuous attacks on civilians" by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the heaviest fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the largest attack by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.
On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces declared a "temporary withdrawal" from Aleppo to prepare a counteroffensive against opposition groups. As early as December 1, the media reported that the Assadʼs Forces had lost control of Aleppo — for the first time since the beginning of the military conflict that began more than ten years ago. Later, it became known that the Assad regime had lost the city of Hama, the fifth largest city in the country.
The Ukrainian intelligence (known as GUR) says that Russian troops are suffering losses during the fighting in Syria. Against this background, the Russian Federation changed the commander of forces in the region — he became General Oleksandr Chaiko, who commanded a group of Russian troops in Syria in 2017-2019. GUR noted that it currently knows about "hundreds" of Russians who are considered missing there.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.