Just a few more kilometers and they will be there. Rebels in Syria advanced towards Homs on Friday and are now not far from the country’s third city. This would then be a new rise in importance after that of the strategic city of Hama on Wednesday.
Over the past few hours, rebels led by the extremist Islamists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) “entered the towns of Rastan and Talbisseh”, located in the province of Homs, in the total absence of regime forces , indicated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), adding that the rebels were now five kilometers from Homs.
Hama commands the road to Homs, about forty kilometers to the south, and the capital Damascus, two large cities still in the hands of power. On Thursday evening, tens of thousands of residents of Homs, mainly members of the Alawite community from which Mr. Assad comes, were seen fleeing towards the west coast, according to the OSDH.