Rebels entered the city of Hama, a key strategic city, dealing a new blow to Syrian President Bassar al-Assad and allies Iran and Russia.
The Syrian army says it has withdrawn from Hama after being overwhelmed by rebel forces.Rebels entered the strategic city of Hama on Thursday, a day after the Syrian army said it was launching a counteroffensive from there.
After a night of violent clashes, the rebels entered Hama "from several sides" and were engaged in street fighting with Assad's forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. Their capture of Hama, which had remained in government hands throughout a long-running civil war, has sparked fears of a continued rebel march south.Hama lies on the route from Aleppo to the Syrian capital of Damascus.
"If Hama falls, it means that the beginning of the regime's fall has started," Mr Abdurrahman told The Associated Press before the city's capture.The Assad regime has long relied on Russia and Iran to maintain power in Syria, but both states have been preoccupied by their own conflicts in recent years.Lebanon's Hezbollah, which had been the most potent Iran-backed force in Syria, has suffered heavy losses in its own war with Israel.
"Currently, the situation in north-western Syria is intensifying, and the overall security situation is deteriorating further," China's embassy said in a message on its WeChat account on Thursday.
Bashar Al-Assad Hama Aleppo Damascus Chinese Embassy Travel Alert Syrian Regime
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