DAMASCUS, Syria
The U.S. Embassy in Syria on Saturday urged U.S. citizens to leave “now while commercial options remain available in Damascus,” as an Islamist rebel group makes rapid gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and closes in on the strategically important city of Homs.
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| A Syrian opposition fighter holds a rocket launcher in front of the provincial government office, where an image of Syrian President Bashar Assad is riddled with bullets, in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, on Friday. |
The situation “continues to be volatile and unpredictable with active clashes between armed groups throughout the country,” the embassy alert said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday spoke with the Turkish Foreign Minister about developments in Syria and stressed the “importance of protecting civilians, including members of minority groups,” a readout of the call said.
Blinken also emphasized the need for a political solution to the 13-year conflict, which recently reignited when the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham captured Aleppo and later Hama.
Turkey is the most important outside power supporting the rebel side in the Syrian civil war, and there are indications that HTS received help from Ankara before the current offensive, according to a brief from the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Syrian Army confirmed on Saturday that rebel fighters in the south of the country “attacked the army’s checkpoints and military points with the aim of distracting our armed forces, which began to regain control of the affairs in the provinces of Homs and Hama.”
If HTS captures Homs, Syria’s third largest city, it will mark a significant strategic victory, as Assad-held Damascus will be cut off from the coast and what remains of the regime’s territory will be split in two.
It could signal a decisive shift in the conflict, solidifying the rebel group’s gains and moving it closer to taking the capital, the ultimate goal of its offensive.
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