Rebel advance in Syria: HTS pushes towards Homs unchallenged
Islamic rebels, who initiated a substantial offensive against Bashar al-Assad's regime forces in November, have advanced to roughly 5 kilometres from the Syrian city of Homs. Thousands of residents have fled their homes to escape the advancing rebel forces.
According to reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) units have entered the towns of Rastan and Tablisa in the Homs province in the past few hours. The organisation emphasises that the rebels face no resistance from Assad’s army.
Syrian forces opposing the regime are divided into many factions that frequently conflict with each other. The most significant external supporter for the rebels is Turkey, which claims it does not directly support HTS. However, the Syrian National Army (SNA), backed by Ankara, also fights against government troops.
SNA fighters have been carrying out an offensive against the Kurdish-dominated and Western-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) controlling northeastern Syria for several days.
