Syrian rebels deal Assad a new blow as they seize the vital city of Hama

In a significant success in a week-long lightning march across northern Syria, Syrian rebels took control of the city of Hama on Thursday, dealing President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies a catastrophic new setback.

The rebels have launched the fastest military assault by either side since an uprising against Assad turned into a civil war 13 years ago, after years of being trapped behind fixed frontlines. They take control of a vital central city that they have never been able to take previously thanks to the capture of Hama.

The Syrian army announced that it was moving back outside the city “to preserve civilian lives and prevent urban combat” following what it described as fierce fighting.

Television footage showed rebels parading around Hama into the evening while gunfire erupted in celebration. After rebels released them, captives were seen flooding out of the city prison in other footage.

The militants declared that they were prepared to march southward toward Homs, a crucial crossroads city that connects the Mediterranean and the capital Damascus. “Your time has come,” a rebel operations room wrote online, urging the people of Homs to launch a revolt.

Images of rebels within Hama were shown by Al Jazeera television. Some of them were seen welcoming people outside a roundabout, while others rode in military vehicles and on mopeds.

The rebels have subsequently marched south from their stronghold in northwest Syria after seizing Aleppo, the key city in the north, last week. For two days, fighting had been going on in the areas outside of Hama, but it was over in a matter of hours after the rebels reached the city.

Since Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, a key component of Assad’s military, sustained devastating losses in the war with Israel, the collapse of Syrian government control in the north is clear proof of a change in the balance of power.

Before the battle lines stopped in 2020, Assad was able to retake the majority of Syria’s territory and its largest cities thanks in large part to Russian and Iranian support during the war’s most violent years.

However, Israel has assassinated numerous key officials of Hezbollah, the most potent organization linked with Iran, in the last two months, while Russia has been preoccupied with the conflict in Ukraine since 2022. In a broadcast statement, the group’s new leader, Naim Qassem, promised to support Syria.

CENTRAL CITY

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the principal insurgent leader, proclaimed complete rebel authority over Hama on Thursday and warned in a video statement against any intervention by Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary group, another force affiliated with Iran.

According to Syrian and Iraqi sources, several Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria early this week in support of Assad. According to Hashd al-Shaabi, their mobilization along the Syrian border was solely prophylactic in case it spread to Iraq.

“We urge him (Iraq’s prime minister) again to keep Iraq away from entering into the flames of a new war tied to what is happening in Syria,” Golani stated.

Assad and his supporters are unable to quickly mount a counteroffensive against the opposition gains of the previous week since Hama is more than a third of the way from Aleppo to Damascus.

Meanwhile, a rebel push on Homs, 40 kilometers (24 miles) south of Hama, may cut off Damascus from the coastal area, which is home to an airfield and naval facility for Assad’s Russian allies and is a stronghold of the Alawite sect.

“Assad can’t risk losing anything else at this point. The impending conflict with Homs is the major conflict. “We are discussing a possible regime change if Homs falls,” stated Jihad Yazigi, publisher of the Syria Report newsletter.

Two significant towns with sizable minority religious communities—Salamiya, which is home to a large number of Ismaili Muslims, and Muhrada, which is home to a large number of Christians—are also crucial for Hama to govern.

Historically a hub of opposition to the Assad family, Hama has not been captured by rebels before. When Muslim Brotherhood members rebelled against Assad’s father there in 1982, the military unleashed a catastrophic three-week attack that claimed over 10,000 lives.

In his statement, Golani made reference to the violent incident, saying, “The revolutionaries have begun entering the city of Hama to cleanse that wound that has persisted in Syria for 40 years.”

He did, however, clarify that rebels capturing Hama would not seek retribution for the 1982 atrocities.

ADVANCE

The most potent rebel group is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former affiliate of al Qaeda in Syria that the West and Turkey continue to label as terrorists. Although its leader, Golani, has called on Syria’s religious minority to flee Assad and pledged to protect them, many people are still afraid of the rebels.

He has also highlighted his break with Al Qaeda and Islamic State years ago and stated that he has always opposed strikes outside of Syria in public statements that are obviously meant to soften his image and reassure other nations.

With the establishment of their so-called Salvation Government in their northwest enclave, HTS and the other rebel groups are attempting to take control over Aleppo.

Residents of Aleppo have reported that phone services have been discontinued and that there are bread and petrol shortages. According to the U.N. food organization, 280,000 people have been displaced by the most recent violence.

Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, stated on Thursday that a return to a political process facilitated by the United Nations to put an end to the violence and rapid humanitarian access to all Syrian civilians in need are urgently needed.

Despite its denial of HTS, Turkey has long been the largest outside supporter of other rebel groups that fight alongside it, and its involvement will be crucial to the viability of any expanded Syrian insurgency.

Ankara has denied any involvement in last week’s unexpected incursion into Aleppo by the rebels. A primary objective for Ankara is the return of many Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey, which would be made possible by any sustained rebel successes in northern Syria.