Asia

Home page

Asia

Syrian army says loses control of Hama

05 December 2024 18:27 (UTC +04:00)

The Syrian army on Thursday said it had lost control of the key central city of Hama, APA reports citing France 24.

The Syrian army withdrawn its troops after rebel forces broke through its defences: “Over the past few hours, with the intensification of confrontations between our soldiers and terrorist groups... these groups were able to breach a number of axes in the city and entered it,” the army said, adding units had redeployed outside the city.

After a night of violent clashes, the rebels entered Hama “from several sides” and were engaged in street fighting with Syrian army’s forces, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

By early Thursday afternoon, Syria’s army admitted it had lost control of the strategically located city seen as crucial in its efforts to protect the capital and seat of power, Damascus.

The insurgents, who are led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), began their lightning advance a week ago and quickly seized swathes of territory, including Syria’s second city Aleppo.

It marks the most intense fighting since 2020.