Syrian rebels captured the central prison in the western Syrian city of Homs on Saturday and freed hundreds of prisoners, two sources said;
Another rebel source said fighters began to enter deeper into the city after breaking through the army’s defenses through the eastern gate.
Siege of Damascus
The Syrian rebel alliance is closing in on Damascus, saying it has begun the “final phase” of its siege on the capital after anti-government forces advanced across the country in a lightning offensive.
THE CNN, US government officials, who are monitoring the crisis and the speed with which the rebels are advancing, assess that the possibility of the fall of the Assad government is growing and could happen in a matter of days.
The Syrian army denies it is in retreat, accusing the rebels of spreading panic. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not left Damascus, the Syrian presidency said, despite not being located in the city, according to a source. A Damascus resident said the city is in a “state of tension and panic.”
In the south, a new uprising has emerged in Daraa province, with local rebels claiming to have seized a key military base as they advance towards the capital.
Understand the conflict in Syria
Syria’s civil war began during the Arab Spring in 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad suppressed a pro-democracy uprising.
The country was plunged into full-scale conflict when a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to fight government troops.
Furthermore, the Islamic State, a terrorist group, also managed to gain a foothold in the country and came to control 70% of Syrian territory.
Fighting escalated as other regional actors and world powers — from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia — joined in, escalating the country’s war into what some observers described as a “proxy war.”
Russia has allied with Bashar al-Assad’s government to fight the Islamic State and rebels, while the United States has led an international coalition to repel the terrorist group.
After a ceasefire agreement in 2020, the conflict remained largely “dormant”, with minor clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.
More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the UN, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.
This content was originally published in Syrian rebels capture Homs prison and release prisoners, sources say on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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