Syrian insurgents entered two central towns early Friday just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria’s third largest city, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported.
The break into Rastan and Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest, after the Syrian army said it withdrew to avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians.
The insurgents, led by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have said that they will march to Homs and Damascus, President Bashar Assad’s seat of power.
The city of Homs, parts of which were controlled by insurgents until 2014, is a major intersection point between the capital, Damascus, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus where Assad enjoys wide support. Homs province is Syria’s largest in size and borders Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
Insurgents are now 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from Homs, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.
“The battle of Homs is the mother of all battles and will decide who will rule Syria,” said Rami Abdurrahman, the Observatory’s chief.
Pro-government Sham FM said the insurgents entered Rastan and Talbiseh without facing any resistance. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military on whether it has withdrawn from the towns.
State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying Friday that Syrian and Russian air force are attacking insurgents in Hama province, killing dozens of fighters.
After the fall of Hama, opposition activists said that thousands of Homs residents who are loyal to Assad were seen fleeing toward Damascus and the coastal region.
Syria’s defense minister said in a televised statement late Thursday that the withdrawal of government forces from Hama was a tactical measure and vowed to gain back lost areas.
Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas said that the insurgents, whom he described as “takfiri” or Muslim extremists, are backed by foreign countries. He did not name the countries but appeared to be referring to Turkey, which is a main backer of the opposition, and the United States.
“We are in a good position on the ground,” Abbas said, adding that Thursday’s withdrawal of the Syrian army from Hama was “a temporary tactical measure and our forces are at the gates of Hama.”
His comments were made before the insurgents marched south of Hama, getting close to Homs.
The offensive is being led by HTS as well as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. Their sudden capture of the northern city of Aleppo, an ancient business hub, was a stunning prize for Assad’s opponents and reignited the conflict which had been largely stalemated for the past few years.
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Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.