Syrian rebels entered the key city of Homs on Saturday and are advancing further to Damascus. The rebel commander said that the Syrian insurgents reached the suburbs of Damascus.
According to Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the insurgents were active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya.
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Hassan Abdul-Ghani, rebel commander, said that the opposition forces had started to encircle Damascus in the "final stage" of their offensive.
Reportedly, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad remains in Damascus. As the rebels are approaching close to the capital city, President-elect Donald Trump said that the US should not be involved in the Syria conflict.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED! Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad. Russia, because they are so tied up…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2024
Meanwhile, protesters in a Damascus suburb tore down the statue of Assad's father.
Besides capturing Aleppo in the north, Hama in the centre and Deir al-Zor in the east, rebels said they have taken southern Quneitra, Deraa and Suweida.
Protesters brought down a statue of the late father of Syria's president in a main square few miles from Damascus city centre.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 7, 2024
Read more: https://t.co/YSCBzZ8j5n pic.twitter.com/Bc3AlJf0Tt
The twin threats to strategically vital Homs and the capital Damascus now pose an existential threat to Assad's decades of rule in Syria. Homs is a key crossroad city, seizing the region would cut off Damascus from the coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and the main rebels' backer Turkey met on Saturday and agreed on the importance of Syria's territorial integrity and on restarting a political process, they said. However, it seems no concrete decision was taken in the meeting as the situation is worsening in Syria.
Though Russia, Iran and Hezbollah have offered assistance and deployment of more troops to fight for Syria, no one has so far made any significant move.
