Syrian rebels take strategic city of Hama in major blow to regime of Bashar al-Assad
In short:
Rebels entered the strategic city of Hama on Thursday, a day after the Syrian army said it was launching a counteroffensive from there.
It is the second major city to fall in Syria to a rapidly advancing rebel contingent after Aleppo was overrun last week.
Hama's fall has further undermined the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, with the Chinese embassy now urging its nationals to leave the country.
The strategic Syrian city of Hama has become the latest to fall into rebel hands, as they continue a rapid advance that threatens the existence of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
It comes a week after rebel forces overran Syria's second largest city, Aleppo.
Rebel factions sweeping southward through Syria include Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, as well as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army.
After a night of violent clashes, the rebels entered Hama "from several sides" and were engaged in street fighting with Assad's forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
On Thursday, local time, the Syrian army said it was redeploying outside Hama "to preserve civilians lives and prevent urban combat" after what it called intense clashes.
Despite Russian and Syrian air forces conducting strikes, the Syrian army said insurgents had managed to break through its defences.
Rebels said they had taken districts in the city's north-east and had seized the central prison, freeing detainees.
Their capture of Hama, which had remained in government hands throughout a long-running civil war, has sparked fears of a continued rebel march south.
City's fall marks perilous moment for regime
Hama lies on the route from Aleppo to the Syrian capital of Damascus.
The city's capture also opens the road for a rebel advance on Homs, the main central city that functions as a crossroads connecting Syria's most populous regions.
The dramatic withdrawal from Hama is yet another blow to the Assad regime, according to Rami Abdurrahman, the chief of UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"If Hama falls, it means that the beginning of the regime's fall has started," Mr Abdurrahman told The Associated Press before the city's capture.
The Assad regime has long relied on Russia and Iran to maintain power in Syria, but both states have been preoccupied by their own conflicts in recent years.
Russia has been focused on the war in Ukraine since 2022.
Lebanon's Hezbollah, which had been the most potent Iran-backed force in Syria, has suffered heavy losses in its own war with Israel.
On Thursday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the militant group would continue to stand "by Syria's side".
Mr Qassem accused the United States and Israel of supporting rebel forces and working to undermine the Syrian regime.
China urges citizens to leave, citing 'deteriorating' situation
China's embassy sent an urgent notice on Thursday advising its citizens to leave Syria "as soon as possible", as Islamist-led rebel forces continue their offensive against Assad's troops.
"Currently, the situation in north-western Syria is intensifying, and the overall security situation is deteriorating further," China's embassy said in a message on its WeChat account on Thursday.
"(The embassy) advises Chinese citizens in the country to make use of available commercial flights to return home or leave the country as soon as possible."
It added that those who remained "may face extremely high security risks and potential delays in receiving assistance".
While Russia and Iran have been Syria's closest backers in recent years, China's ties to the country have grown.
China is one of only a handful of countries outside the Middle East that Mr Assad has visited since Syria's civil war began in 2011.
On that 2023 trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Assad announced a "strategic partnership" between their countries.
Reuters/AP/AFP