INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Syrian rebels stated they seized control of the southern city of Daraa on Saturday, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President
Bashar al-Assad and the 4th city his forces have lost in a week.Rebel sources stated the military agreed to make an organized withdrawal
from Daraa under an offer providing army authorities safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100 km (60 miles) north, Reuters
reported.Social media videos revealed rebels on motorbikes and others mingling with homeowners on the streets
Individuals fired shots into the air at the city&& 's primary square in event, according to the videos.There was no immediate remark from
the military or Assad&& 's government, and Reuters might not individually validate the rebels& & claim.With the fall of Daraa, Assad&& 's
forces have given up four essential centres to the insurgents in a week.Daraa, which had a population of more than 100,000 before the civil
war started 13 years ago, holds symbolic significance as the cradle of the uprising
It is the capital of a province of about 1 million individuals, bordering Jordan.Daraa&& 's seizure followed the rebels& & claim late on
Friday that they had actually advanced to the edge of the central city of Homs, an essential crossroads in between the capital and the
Mediterranean coast.Capturing Homs would cut off Damascus from the coastal fortress of Assad&& 's minority Alawite sect, and from a naval
base and air base of his Russian allies there.&& Our forces have freed the last village on the outskirts of the city of Homs and are now on
its walls,& & the Syrian faction leading the sweeping attack stated on the Telegram messaging app.A coalition of rebel factions that
include Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made a last get in touch with forces loyal to Assad&& 's federal government in Homs to defect.Ahead of
the rebel advance, countless people fled Homs towards the seaside areas of Latakia and Tartus, strongholds of the federal government,
citizens and witnesses said.ASSAD REGIME UNDER THREATA United States -backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters caught Deir el-Zor, the
federal government&& 's primary foothold in the large eastern desert, on Friday, 3 Syrian sources informed Reuters.The rebels took Aleppo
and Hama in the northwest and centre earlier in the lightning offensive that started on Nov
In another ominous indication for Assad in the east, the Syrian Kurdish force said Islamic State &-- a jihadist group that enforced martial
law under its severe guideline before its defeat by a United States -led coalition in 2017 &-- had actually taken control of some areas in
eastern Syria.Aron Lund, a fellow at think-tank Century Foundation, stated Assad&& 's &federal government was & fighting for their lives at
It was possible the federal government could hold Homs, && however given the speed at which things have moved so far, I wouldn&& 't rely on
it & , he stated on Friday.Syrian state TV reported Russian-Syrian airstrikes targeting rebel headquarters in the countryside of Hama, Idlib
and Aleppo eliminated a minimum of 200 insurgents on Friday, mentioning the Russian Coordination Centre in Syria.A Syrian army source stated
Iran-backed Hezbollah forces were placed to strengthen federal government defences in and near Homs.Syrian state media reported dozens of
rebels were eliminated in the Homs countryside on Friday in an operation by Syrian and Russian air forces, artillery, rockets and armoured
vehicles.Capturing Homs would strengthen a chain of powerful positions under the rebels& & control from Aleppo on the Turkish border in the
north to Daraa on the Jordanian border to the south.Gaining Homs would also increase the rebels& & chances of separating the seat of
Assad&& 's regime in Damascus with the ability to block the route northwest from the capital to the sea.REBELS REENERGISEDAs the rebels
pushed their offensive, Russia and Jordan on Friday advised their nationals to leave Syria.After years locked behind frozen cutting edge,
rebel forces have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to accomplish the swiftest battleground advance by either side given that a
street uprising versus Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago.Syria&& 's conflict killed more than 305,000 individuals between 2011
and 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated in 2022
Assad restored control of the majority of Syria after key allies &-- Russia, Iran and Lebanon&& 's Hezbollah-- pertained to his rescue
All have actually recently been compromised and diverted by other crises, providing Sunni Muslim militants a window to battle back.Tehran,
which has been focussed on tensions with arch-foe Israel because the Gaza war started last year, started to evacuate its military officials
and personnel from Syria on Friday, an indication of Iran&& 's inability to keep Assad in power, the New York Times reported, mentioning
regional officials and 3 Iranian officials.The head of the main rebel faction HTS, Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, vowed in a separate interview
with the New York Times published on Friday that the insurgents might end Assad&& 's rule
& This operation broke the opponent,& & he said of the rebels & lightning offensive.The post Syrian rebels take 4th city, close in on
Homs in threat to Assad&& 's rule initially appeared on Ariana News.
