Syria war: Rebels in Syria captured the southern city of Dawa on Saturday. The city is the birthplace of the rebellion that began in 2011 against President Bashar al-Assad. Daraa is Syria’s fourth-largest city, where forces backed by Bashar al-Assad’s government fell to rebels last week.
Syrian rebels said the army had reached an agreement to return to Daraa. Under the agreement, rebels will provide army officials with safe passage to the capital, Damascus, about 100 kilometers north. In a video viral on social media, militants riding a motorcycle are seen talking and meeting with local residents on the road to Daraa. People were seen celebrating by firing in the air on the main four roads of the city.
However, there has been no comment from the Syrian Army or the Bashar al-Assad government regarding the rebel capture of Daraa. The city is the capital of Syria province bordering Jordan, which has a population of about 1 lakh. The rebellion against the Assad regime started here 13 years ago. Capturing the rebels on such a claim holds a symbolic significance.
Syrian rebels reach the coast of Homs city
Earlier, Syrian rebels advanced towards the shores of the city of Homs late Friday night. This city is located between Syria’s capital Damascus and the Mediterranean Sea. Rebel capture of Homs would cut off links to the capital, Damascus, home to Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite community, and its Russia-backed naval base and airport. “Our forces have liberated the last village on the outskirts of the city of Homs and have now captured its walls,” the Syrian rebel group said on the Telegram messaging app.
Rebel groups include the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which made a final call for forces loyal to Assad’s government in Homs to join the rebellion. A US-backed rebel coalition led by Kurdish fighters on Friday captured Deir al-Zour, the Assad government’s main stronghold in the vast eastern desert, according to three Syrian sources. Rebels have also captured Aleppo and Hama. At least 200 rebels were killed in Russian-Syrian air strikes targeting rebel headquarters in Hama, Idlib and the Aleppo countryside on Friday, Syrian state TV said.
Hezbollah sent fighters to save Holmes
Iran-backed Hezbollah forces have been deployed to Homs to reinforce another government stronghold, according to information from a Syrian army source. Hezbollah has sent fighters to Syria to help the Assad government prevent rebels from taking control of Homs, two senior Lebanese security sources said on Friday. Dozens of rebels were killed in rural Homs on Friday in an operation involving Syrian and Russian air forces, artillery, missiles and armored vehicles, according to reports.
The UN Human Rights Office said in 2022 that more than 305,000 people died in the Syrian conflict between 2011 and 2021. Bashar al-Assad-backed forces have regained control of much of Syria after key allies – Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah – came to the rescue. However, all the allies are now weakened by other crises and are not focused, giving Sunni Muslim rebels an opportunity to attack again.