Syrian rebels capture second major city as army withdraws from Hama

[TheProle]

Syrian rebels have driven government forces from Hama, a major city that the country’s regime had held over more than a decade of civil war, further weakening President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on the nation.

The Syrian military said on Thursday that it had to withdraw from the strategically important hub of Hama after the rebels “penetrated several parts of the city.”

The rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said they freed hundreds of those “wrongfully detained” from the city’s central prison.

Hama is the second major city the rebels have captured in their week-long offensive, which has thrown the Assad regime’s forces into disarray. After capturing Aleppo last week, the rebels swept south to Hama – and now are setting their sights on Homs, the next city south on the highway to the Syrian capital of Damascus.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/middleeast/syria-rebels-hama-government-intl/index.html