Syrian opposition forces entered suburbs of the key city of Homs on Saturday, sources said, pressing a lightning week-long advance as front lines collapse across the country and government forces battle to save President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.
A Homs resident, and army and opposition sources said the insurgents had breached government defenses from the north and east of the city. The Syrian military did not immediately comment on the reports.
Fighting had raged around the north of strategically vital Homs since late on Friday with government forces reinforcing and using intense airstrikes to hammer the opposition.
The opposition also seized almost the entire southwest within 24 hours and advanced to within 30 km (20 miles) of Damascus as government forces fell back to more defensible positions, opposition fighters said.
Underscoring the possibility of a renewed uprising in the capital itself, protesters in a Damascus suburb tore down a statue of al-Assad’s father, residents said, with video showing them tearing it to pieces.
Al-Assad remains in Damascus, Syria’s state news agency said.
Since the opposition’s sweep into Aleppo a week ago, government defenses have crumbled at dizzying speed as armed opposition forces seized a string of major cities and rose up in places where the uprising had long seemed over.
Besides capturing Aleppo in the north, Hama in the center and Deir al-Zor in the east, opposition forces said they have taken southern Quneitra, Deraa and Suweida.
Reuters
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