Syria Civil War Live Updates: Syrian Rebels Seize Control of Deir Ezzor as Assad Troops Withdraw

Russian airstrikes destroys major bridge into Homs to slow rebel advance

Russia has bombed Syria’s Rustan Bridge in an attempt to slow rebel forces from entering Homs city, a Syrian army officer told Reuters.

Moscow launched multiple air strikes overnight on Thursday to destroy the bridge on the main route into the city.

“There were at least eight strikes on the bridge,” he added. Government forces were working to strengthen positions around Homs city with fresh reinforcements, the officer told Reuters.

What role does Turkey play in the Syrian civil war?

Key to any resolution of the hostilities is Turkey, which backs the Free Syrian Army fighting alongside HTS. “The attack could not have taken place without Turkey’s tacit approval,” Middle East analyst Avi Melamed told Newsweek.

During the Syrian civil war, Ankara established a zone of control in the north of the country via proxy forces based on Syrian rebel groups. Turkey has been unable to resolve the issue of Kurdish autonomy in northeast Syria (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria or AANES), which Ankara views as a direct threat due to groups there it deems to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey has strained its economy and created a significant political challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“The rebel successes present a renewed threat to Assad’s regime, which had stabilized its grip on parts of Syria in recent years,” said Melamed. “Turkey is likely to halt the rebels’ advance once the risks to its broader interests—particularly relations with Russia and the U.S.—outweigh the gains from this military campaign.”

Read in full from Brendan Cole on Newsweek.

Iran will support Syria ‘with whatever is needed’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Iran will support Syria “with whatever is needed” as rebel forces advance across the country, Agence France-Presse reports.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Syria and will continue to do so with all its might and with whatever is needed and requested by the Syrian government,” Araghchi said today, in Baghdad.

Iran points finger at US and Ukraine for Syrian rebels’ advances

Iran has blamed the United States and Ukraine for recent advances made by Syrian rebels in a surprise offensive against the Syrian government.

On Friday, the Iranian-state affiliated Mehr News Agency reported that Mojtaba Damirchiloo, an aide to Iran’s foreign minister, criticized Ukraine and the U.S. for supporting “terrorism” in Syria.

In particular, the report outlined how the Iranian official condemned “the illegal trade of weapons received from the United States by some Ukrainian officials and Ukraine’s support for listed terrorist groups in Syria.”

Referencing the use of Takfiri—or foreign militant groups—to operate in Syria against the Assad regime, Damirchiloo condemned the deployment of these fighters, which he said was leading to the destabilization of the West Asia region. He described this approach as an unethical policy that violates established principles and norms of international law.

Read in full from Matthew Impelli on Newsweek.

Syrian fighters capture major army base in Daraa province

Syrian opposition fighters have captured one of the main army bases in the Daraa province, Reuters reports.

The insurgents overrun the Liwa 52 base, near the town of Herak, on Friday morning as fighting in Syria escalates.

Rebel sources also told Reuters they had seized the Nassib border crossing with Jordan.

Death toll in Syria reaches 826 in rebel uprising, says watchdog

The conflict in Syria has killed 826 people since the huge rebel offensive began last week, according to a war watchdog.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK based organization which relies on sources in Syria, said the death toll included 111 civilians.

Which countries support Syria’s rebel groups?

Syria is supported by Russia, which has a naval base in Tarus and provides airstrikes to assist Assad’s forces. Iran has a considerable military presence in the country and Iran-backed militias, notably from Iraq, have joined the ground fighting.

In response to the military setbacks, Syria’s defense minister, General Ali Mahmoud Abbas, insisted the withdrawal from Hama was a “tactical measure” and vowed to reclaim the lost territory.

Speaking in a televised address on Thursday, Abbas described the rebels as “takfiri”—a derogatory term for extremists—and accused them of being backed by foreign powers, a likely reference to Turkey and the U.S., both of which support opposition forces.

“We are in a strong position,” Abbas declared. “This is only a temporary setback, and we will regain control over Hama.”

The coalition leading the charge—HTS alongside the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army—has reignited the long-dormant conflict, challenging Assad’s forces in regions once considered firmly under government control.

Read in full from Shamim Chowdhury on Newsweek.

IN PICTURES: Insurgents takeover Hama

A series of pictures has captured the insurgent takeover of the Syrian city of Hama.

In one picture, Syrian opposition fighters stand atop a seized Syrian Air Force fighter plane at the Hama military airport.

An insurgent fires his AK-47 in the air in celebration of taking the city, in another.

In an image taken today, a poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad is seen riddled with bullets on the facade of the provincial government office in Hama.

How important is Homs to Syria?

Rami Abdurrahman, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)’s head, called the impending battle for Homs “the mother of all battles,” suggesting that it will be decisive in determining the future of Syria.

Pro-government media outlets confirmed the insurgents’ capture of Rastan and Talbiseh, reporting that the towns fell without significant resistance.

However, there was no immediate statement from the Syrian military regarding whether it had withdrawn from these locations.

Meanwhile, Syrian and Russian air forces launched strikes in Hama province, with state news agency SANA reporting that dozens of rebel fighters had been killed in the bombardment.

The attack comes in retaliation for the loss of Hama, a major blow to the government’s control over central Syria.

Opposition activists in Hama reported that following the fall of the city, thousands of Assad loyalists fled southward toward the capital and coastal regions, seeking refuge from the advancing rebel forces.

Syrian rebel forces enter towns north of Homs

Syrian rebel forces have entered towns north of the country’s third largest city, Homs.

Spearheaded by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the insurgents have already captured the Aleppo, a city in the north, and the central city of Hama.

Their eventual aim is to take the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Turkish President Erdogan says he hopes rebel advance in Syria will continue

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes the rebel advance in Syria will continue.

“As of now, Idlib, Hama, Homs and the target is of course Damascus. This march of the opposition continues,” he told reporters outside a mosque in Istanbul.

“Our wish is that this march in Syria will continue without any accidents and troubles.”

More than 280,000 people displaced in Syria since rebel offensive, UN warns

More than 280,000 people have been displaced in Syria since the huge rebel offensive this week, according to the United Nations.

Those figures could rise to 1.5 million as the fighting rapidly escalates, it warned.

UN World Food Program’s Samer AbdelJaber described the situation in Syria as “a crisis on top of another,” since the country’s civil war began in 2011.

Russian embassy in Damascus warns its nationals to leave Syria

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Damascus has called on Russian nationals to leave Syria as rebels warn “our destination is Damascus.”

The warning is an unusual move for Russia which remains a close ally of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

Can Russia still save Assad in Syria?

Just when it seemed he had consolidated his position as Syrian president after the Arab Spring uprising and Islamic State land grabs, Bashar al-Assad’s future hangs in the balance after a stunning advance by anti-regime forces, who seized control of key cities.

Assad, whose army is accused by international observers of committing atrocities since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, including chemical attacks, is heavily reliant on Russian military support to maintain his position and has been for several years.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing his own problems. His stretched army is advancing in Ukraine, but at huge cost in both men and materiel, and Russia is also struggling to expand its influence across Africa, where it has troops in action, too.

With Assad under renewed pressure and his army rapidly losing control to insurgents, and Putin’s war-weary economy pushed close to its limits, can Russia still save Syria’s president? Newsweek put the question to experts. Here’s what they said.

Read in full from Shane Croucher on Newsweek.

Syrian rebels call on regime forces to defect as they warn, ‘our destination is Damascus’

The Syrian rebels have warned that they are heading for the county’s capital of Damascus.

“Our destination is Damascus, and our meeting point is the public square of Umayyads,” the Southern Operations Room rebels group, representing factions in southern Syria, told CNN.

They said they had already captured several government posts along the Jordan-Syria border, and urged government forces to defect now.

Syrian opposition forces have reportedly seized the city of Deir ez-Zor

Syrian opposition forces have seized the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, Reuters reports.

Syrian government troops have now withdrawn from the parts of the city that were under their control

“Syrian forces and their Iran-backed allies completely withdrew from areas they control in Deir Ezzor province and Kurdish forces are advancing towards their areas,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Syrian government forces withdraw from al-Suwayda police headquarters

Syrian government forces have withdrawn from from police headquarters in the city of al-Suwayda, according to local reports.

Opposition fighters have given pro-government forces 24 hours to vacate al-Suwayda city.

Local news reports that those forces have now vacated the headquarters and left.

There have been reports of clashes across al-Suwayda and that the Military Intelligence Directorate headquarters has been surrounded.

Lebanon closes land border crossings with Syria

Lebanon has closed all its land border crossings with Syria besides one, as Syrian rebels advance on a 3rd metropolis.

“Border crossings shall be closed till additional discover for the protection of vacationers,” Lebanon’s safety company stated in an announcement.

They added that the one crossing that shall be saved open is Masnaa, which hyperlinks Beirut with the Syrian capital Damascus.

The announcement got here hours after an Israeli airstrike broken the al-Arida border crossing with Syria in north Lebanon.

Syria’s border crossing with Iraq falls below insurgent management

Syria’s border crossing with Iraq falls has been captured by rebels, Reuters experiences.

The crossing, on the jap metropolis of Albu Kamal, was reportedly taken on Friday morning by members of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The crossing is an important transport route throughout the area.

Thousands flee as Syrian rebels shut in on metropolis of Homs

Thousands of persons are fleeing their houses as Syrian opposition fighters advance on the town of Homs, in keeping with a human rights group.

Rebels have already captured the Aleppo, a metropolis within the north, and the central metropolis of Hama, and are actually closing in on Homs.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that hundreds of Homs residents started leaving the town for Syria’s west coast on Thursday night time.