Islamist-led rebels captured the central Syrian city of Hama in a new blow to President Bashar al-Assad’s forces days after they lost the country’s commercial hub Aleppo.
The rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched their offensive little more than a week ago, just as a ceasefire took hold between Israel and Assad’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Following overnight clashes, the rebels stormed Hama “from several sides” and engaged in street battles with Assad’s forces, Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
The rebels later announced “the complete liberation of the city of Hama”, in a message on the rebels’ Telegram channel.
The army admitted losing control of the city, strategically located between Aleppo and Assad’s seat of power in Damascus.
Aron Lund, a fellow of the Century International think tank, called the loss of Hama “a massive, massive blow to the Syrian government” because the army should have had an advantage there to reverse rebel gains “and they couldn’t do it.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the flare-up in Syria reflects “the bitter fruits of a chronic collective failure of previous de-escalation arrangements”.
In a video posted online, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said his fighters had entered Hama to “cleanse the wound that has endured in Syria for 40 years”, referring to a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982, which led to thousands of deaths.
“I ask God almighty that it be a conquest with no revenge,” he added.
In a later message on Telegram congratulating “the people of Hama on their victory,” he used his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, instead of his nom de guerre for the first time.
The rapid fall of the city came despite shelling and strikes by the Syrian and Russian air forces, as reported by state media late Wednesday.
Maya, a 22-year-old student who gave only her first name for security concerns, said earlier Thursday that she and her family were staying at home as the fighting raged outside.
“We have been hearing non-stop the sounds of explosions and shelling,” she told AFP by telephone from Hama.
