This progress is of great importance to the Islamist factions, as control of this city opens the door to at least four provinces: Aleppo, which they already dominate; the Mediterranean regions of Tartus – Bashar al-Assad’s fiefdom – and Latakia, where Russia has its military base; and finally Homs.
The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad This Thursday it lost control of the city of Hama, the second provincial capital to fall to the Islamic insurgency in just over a week of offensive after the fall of Aleppo.
The group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)which is leading the offensive, has broken the Syrian army’s defenses around the strategic city of Hama after several days of fighting in which the insurgents finally managed to enter the city and destroy the military airport, the police headquarters and its prison, from which “hundreds of prisoners” have been released.
The confirmation of the capture of the city comes simultaneously from both the Damascus authorities, who have acknowledged their withdrawal to “withdraw and position themselves outside the city”, and from the HTS spokespersons, who have said that “ the regime’s forces entered a state of anarchy in Hama and the senior officers fled.”
The fall of Hama, the target of HTS and its allied militias, took place afterwards two days of battle in the urban environment.
Abu Mohamed al Jolanileader of HTS, it did not take long before he appeared to confirm this triumph of his militants, to insist on a message he had already given the day before: to protect the militants of his organization, which has its origins in the Nusra Front , to ask Al Qaeda’s Syria subsidiary, “compassion and kindness” in the “liberated” areas.
The staggering success of the HTS offensive, which also includes other anti-Damascus groups backed by Turkey, has raised fears of a repeat of human rights abuses against civilians, as organizations such as Human Rights Watch have denounced.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city in terms of population and home to a prominent Christian community, occupied by HTS since last Friday, is today experiencing a day of calm, according to residents of the city contacted by EFE.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 727 people have been killed so far since the offensive began, including more than 100 civilians.
Why is Hama so important?
Located on the banks of the Orontes Riverfor some 220 kilometers north of the capital Damascusthe city of Hama, in the central Syria and the fourth largest in the country, it is an area of great military strategic importance, located on the M5 highway, the backbone that connects the entire Arab nation from south to north. The arrival of the insurgents there is now bringing them closer to another very important city: Homs.
This progress towards Hama is of great importance to the Islamist factions, as control of the city opens the door to at least four provinces: Aleppowho already dominate to a large extent after having their capital under control last Friday; the Mediterranean regions of Tartus -fief of Bashar al Assad- and Latakiawhere Russia has its military base; and finally, Homs.
Only about 46 kilometers separate the city of Hama, with an estimated population of about 920,000 people and a Sunni Muslim majority, and the city of Homs.
So if the insurgents continue south along the M5 and come to dominate Homs, then that’s the case would completely isolate Damascus from the coast and Al Assad’s power base, and also left the highway out of use for the transit of reinforcements.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
