People celebrate and ride motocycles in the Syrian southern city of Daraa on December 7, 2024, after the collapse of government forces. – Syria’s army said it was redeploying in two southern provinces on December 7
| Photo Credit: AFP
Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday (December 8, 2024) after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.
Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.
FOLLOW MORE: Syria civil war LIVE updates: Syrian rebels announce full control over Homs; government forces withdraw
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military.
The fall of Homs gives the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.
Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the main rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “those who drop their arms”.
Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents.
The battle for control of the country is likely to turn quickly to the capital. Residents of numerous Damascus districts turned out to protest Assad on Saturday evening, and security forces were either unwilling or unable to clamp down.
Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement early Sunday that operations were ongoing to “completely liberate” the countryside around Damascus and rebel forces were looking toward the capital.
In one suburb, a statue of Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and torn apart.
The Syrian army said it was reinforcing around Damascus, and state television reported on Saturday that Assad remained in the city.
Outside the city, rebels swept across the entire southwest over 24 hours and established control.
Published – December 08, 2024 05:39 am IST
