Rebels capture Syria's Hama

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Islamist-led rebel forces captured the central Syrian city of Hama on Thursday, overrunning government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad only days after capturing Aleppo in a lightning offensive, France24 reported.

The rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stormed the city and, after fierce fighting, claimed to have seized its prison and released inmates.

After a night of violent clashes, the rebels entered Hama “from several sides” and were engaged in street fighting with Assad’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.

“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,” France24 quoted a statement from the army. It added that units had redeployed outside the city.

The fall of Hama came despite shelling and strikes carried out by the Syrian and Russian air forces, as reported by state media late Wednesday.