The rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), began their offensive just over a week ago, coinciding with the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Assad, in neighboring Lebanon.
Beirut, Lebanon:
Islamist-led rebels seized the central Syrian city of Hama on Thursday, marking another setback for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces just days after their loss of Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub.
The offensive, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), began a little over a week ago, coinciding with a ceasefire between Israel and Assad’s ally Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
After overnight clashes, the rebels advanced on Hama from multiple directions, engaging in street battles with Assad’s forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
The rebels later declared “the complete liberation of the city of Hama” in a message posted on their Telegram channel.
As they entered the city, rebel fighters kissed the ground and fired celebratory shots into the air. Many residents came out to greet the fighters, with some even setting fire to a large poster of Assad on the city hall building.
The Syrian army acknowledged its loss of control over Hama, a strategically important city located between Aleppo and Damascus, the seat of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Defence Minister Ali Abbas described the withdrawal as a “temporary tactical measure” and assured that the army was still present in the area.
Aron Lund, a fellow at the Century International think tank, called the loss of Hama a “massive blow” to the Syrian government. He pointed out that the army should have had an advantage in the city to reverse the rebels’ gains, but was unable to do so. Lund also predicted that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) would now focus on advancing towards Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, which is located about 40 kilometers south of Hama. Social media images on Thursday showed many residents leaving Homs, particularly members of Assad’s Alawite minority community, who were heading towards areas along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, where Alawites form the majority.
“We are afraid and worried that what happened in Hama will be repeated in Homs,” said Abbas, a civil servant. “We fear they (the rebels) will take revenge on us.”
While the war in Syria had largely remained dormant in recent years, analysts had warned that the conflict was far from resolved. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the recent escalation a reflection of the “chronic collective failure of previous de-escalation arrangements.”
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, in a video posted online, stated that his fighters had entered Hama to “cleanse the wound that has endured in Syria for 40 years,” referencing the 1982 crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which resulted in thousands of deaths. He prayed for the conquest to be “without revenge” and, in a later message, congratulated the people of Hama on their victory, using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, for the first time.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 826 people, mostly combatants but including 111 civilians, have been killed since the violence erupted last week. This marks the most intense fighting since 2020 in the civil war, which began in 2011 after the government’s violent suppression of pro-democracy protests.
One of the key factors behind the rebels’ successes was the capture of Aleppo, which had remained under government control throughout the decade-long conflict. While the rebels initially encountered little resistance, the fighting around Hama has been particularly fierce. Since Tuesday evening, 222 people, including four civilians, have been reported killed in Hama province.
In response, Assad ordered a 50-percent pay raise for career soldiers as part of efforts to strengthen his forces for a counteroffensive. Despite the government’s deployment of large military convoys, the rebels managed to push back the Syrian armed forces.
The fighting in northern Syria began on November 27, the same day a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in neighboring Lebanon. Hezbollah, along with Russia, has been a crucial supporter of Assad’s government but has been embroiled in its own conflicts in recent years. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem expressed Thursday that his group would continue to support Syria in thwarting the rebels’ objectives.
Human Rights Watch warned that civilians were at risk of serious abuses by both opposition armed groups and the Syrian government, given the nature of the ongoing violence. HTS, originally linked to Al-Qaeda, has sought to moderate its image but continues to face skepticism from Western governments regarding its renouncement of jihadist ideology.
The United States maintains a presence in eastern Syria as part of a coalition against the Islamic State group.
