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Syria, rebels arrive on the outskirts of Damascus

2024-12-07 16:16:42, Kosova & Bota CNA

Syrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Damascus as part of a rapidly advancing offensive that has seen them take control of some of Syria's biggest cities, opposition activists and a rebel commander said on Saturday.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the opposition's fight, said the rebels are now active in Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya, on the outskirts of Damascus.

He added that opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria towards Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, on Saturday. A rebel commander, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces have begun carrying out the "final phase" of their offensive encircling Damascus. He added that the insurgents had left from southern Syria towards Damascus.

The Syrian army withdrew from much of southern Syria on Saturday, leaving more areas of the country, including two regional centers under the control of opposition fighters, the army and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The withdrawal of troops from Daraa and Sweida provinces came as the Syrian army sent a large number of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, as insurgents closed in on its outskirts.

The rapid advances by the rebels are a severe and unexpected blow to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who appears to have been left largely without support as his one-time allies Russia and Iran are engaged in other conflicts, respectively. in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The surprise offensive began on November 27 under the leadership of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, during which gunmen overran the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, and the central city of Hama, the fourth largest. of the country.

The group has its origins in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the United Nations. Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, told CNN in an exclusive interview Thursday from Syria that the goal of the offensive is to topple al-Assad's government./ VOA