Syrian rebel forces said on Friday their lightning advance reached the central city of Homs, which could position the insurgents to topple another town strategic to President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power.
“Our forces have liberated the last village on the outskirts of the city of Homs and are now on its walls,” the Syrian faction leading the sweeping assault said on Telegram.
Reuters could not independently confirm the rebels’ claim.
The Islamist group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), made a last call on forces loyal to Assad’s government in Homs to defect.
If the rebels capture Homs, they would cut off the capital 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.
Syrian state media reported the army was carrying out an operation in the Homs countryside with support from Syrian and Russian air forces, artillery, missiles and armoured vehicles.
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