The Syrian army said on Monday that rebel forces had entered the city of Hama after intense fighting that forced government troops to regroup outside the city "to save civilian lives and avoid fighting in an urban environment," Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Syrian rebel leader Hassan Abdul Ghani said on the social network "Ex" today that hundreds of prisoners had been released from Hama's central prison.
The leader of the Islamist rebel group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" called on Iraq's prime minister not to allow the Iranian-backed Iraqi group "Hashd al-Shaabi" to intervene in the conflict in Syria, warning that it would increase tensions in the region.
On November 27, armed Islamist rebels led by the group “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham“ (HTS) launched a surprise offensive in northern Syria. Taking advantage of the dysfunctional forces of President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Russia's involvement in its war with Ukraine, HTS and its Turkish-backed allies advanced south - and quickly captured the city of Aleppo from government forces and their Russian backers, writes the British newspaper „Telegraph“.
Now the city of Hama could be next. If it falls, the rebels will have the opportunity to start shrinking the Assad regime-controlled area between the front line and the Mediterranean coast 60 km to the west. This area includes the entire coastline of Syria, but it also hosts the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean, in the port city of Tartus, the publication recalls.
Moscow is aware that the base is in trouble. Satellite images taken on Tuesday revealed that all of the large Russian military vessels known to operate from the port - three missile frigates, a diesel-electric attack submarine and two lightly armed auxiliary ships - have weighed anchor from the port and sailed into the Mediterranean.