Hama, another major city in Syria, was captured by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS). HTS fighters are now heading towards the important Syrian city of Homs. They also captured some areas of Homs. After capturing Homs, they will head towards the capital Damascus.
According to the AFP news agency, the Syrian army destroyed the highway linking Homs and Hama with airstrikes to stop the rebels. The city of Homs is only 40 km from Hama. After the capture of Hama, members of the Shiite community living in the city of Homs began to flee the city.
The Russian army fired several missiles to stop the HTS rebels, but failed to stop their advance. After the capture of Hama, HTS commander Abu Mohammad Al Julani gave the message of victory.
5 images of the capture of Hama by the HTS rebels…
HTS fighters celebrate their victory after conquering the city of Hama.
HTS fighters capture Syrian army artillery in Hama.
Rebels captured the Assad government’s weapons and air defense systems during the capture of Hama on December 5, 2024.
After capturing the town of Hama, rebels demolished the statue of President Assad’s father and former president Hafez al-Assad.
A broken statue of Hafez Assad, father of President Bashar Assad.
The HTS leader said: “On the day of the Assad government’s countdown, Julani said his goal was to overthrow the Assad government from Syria. He gave an interview to CNN from a secret location in Syria. Julani said the dictatorship would end in Syria and the popular government would be elected.
He said the Assad family has ruled Syria for 40 years. But today the Assad government is dead. She survived for a while with help from the Iranians. Later, the Russians also helped them, but the reality is that the days of their rule are numbered.
Clashes between the army and HTS have continued in Syria since November 27. The rebels had already captured Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, on December 1. So far, 826 people have been killed in this war in Syria. This is the deadliest fighting in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Rebel fighters fought for Hama for 3 days
The rebel fighters had been fighting with the army for 3 days to capture Hama. The army said the rebels launched suicide bombings to break the defense line. During this period, many soldiers were killed fighting the rebels.
Hama is the fourth largest city in Syria. Even during the civil war that broke out in Syria in 2011, Hama could not be captured by the rebels. Even then, this city was under government control. In such a situation, the capture of the rebels this time is a big victory for them.
Earlier on Saturday, rebels captured the city of Aleppo. It is Syria’s main commercial hub.
Rebel group fighters celebrate after the capture of Aleppo.
HTS becomes largest organization in Syria
HTS has previously been linked to Al-Qaeda. The Sunni HTS group is led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Julani has been a threat to Al-Assad’s government for several years.
According to reports, Al-Julani was born in 1982 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There, his father was a petroleum engineer. In 1989, Julani’s family returned to Syria and settled near Damascus.
Julani left his medical studies midway and joined al-Qaeda after the US attack on Iraq in 2003. He was close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in al-Qaeda. After Zarqawi’s assassination in 2006, Julani spent time in Lebanon and Iraq.
Very little information is available about Julani before joining Al-Qaeda in 2003.
In 2006 itself, Julani was arrested by the US military in Iraq. He was released after spending 5 years in prison. He then joined the Islamic State. Julani arrived in Syria in 2011 amid protests against Assad. After that, he formed Jabhat al-Nusra and waged war against the Assad government.
In 2017, Al-Nusra and other terrorist groups formed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). HTS is now the most powerful rebel group in Syria. Before capturing Aleppo and Hama, this organization captured Idlib. According to some reports, 30,000 fighters are hiding behind this organization. America placed this organization on the terrorist list in 2018.
Will the Assad regime end?
Ibrahim al-Assil, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, said real fighting between Assad’s forces and the rebel group had not yet begun. Assad is working on an old strategy, which has also worked for him in the past. First retreat, unite, fortify yourself, then counterattack.
If the rebels want to achieve victory, they must know how to stop. Assad may also use chemical weapons to stop these rebels.
The civil war began in Syria in 2011
The civil war in Syria began with the Arab Spring in 2011. The Syrian people launched protests against the government of Bashar al-Assad, in power for 10 years. After that, a rebel group was formed called the “Free Syrian Army”.
With the formation of the rebel group, the civil war in Syria began. This conflict further worsened after the accession of America, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, the terrorist organization ISIS has also spread its wings in Syria.
After the 2020 ceasefire agreement, only sporadic clashes took place here. According to the United Nations report, more than 3,000,000 people were killed during the ten-year civil war. Apart from this, thousands of people had to be displaced.
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