Assad regime forces have been routed once again as anti-regime Syrian rebels capture Hama city following fierce clashes, lighting advance out of Idlib.
According to reports, the rebel groups have established full control in the city center after capturing the Mezarib, Sanayi, and Arbain neighbourhoods.
Hassan Abdul Ghani, commander of the Military Operations Department formed by anti-regime groups, said on X: “The criminal Hafez al-Assad entered it with tanks and stole it from its people, and today we entered it with tanks and returned it to its people.”
The news appears to have been confirmed by the Syrian Arab Army.
According to Turkish news platform, Anadolu Agency, the Damascus regime announced its withdrawal from the city and redeployment to the outskirts after anti-regime groups took full control of Hama.
Assad loyal forces appear to be in full retreat after a lightening advance by rebel groups from Idlib who have stunned onlookers with a highly successful offensive which has seen Aleppo and dozens of other towns and villages captured in a matter of days.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which has been clashing with Assad regime forces since Nov. 27, are credited with leading the offensive, although the rebel groups are made up of a collection of different anti-Assad forces.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
The groups initially clashed with the regime forces west of Hama city center, took the villages of Erze, al-Wahshiyya, Kafrtun and Yadgun before heading towards Hama Military Airport southwest of the city center.
Elsewhere, the Turkish-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Army, launched an offensive named Operation Dawn of Freedom against Kurdish armed groups in the north, the PKK/YPG on Dec. 1, liberating the town of Tel Rifaat.
The PKK are considered a terrorist group by Ankara but have received support from the West.
Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was formed in January 2017 through a merger of several Islamic factions, most notably Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
This merger was led by figures from both Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham.
The group is currently led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who was also the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra.
Al-Jolani has tried to position HTS as a more locally focused group with a nationalistic agenda, distancing it from global jihadist ambitions.
HTS adheres to a “Salafi-jihadist” ideology but claims to have severed formal ties with Al Qaeda.
Despite this, it retains many ideological similarities with Al Qaeda, focusing on establishing an Islamic state governed by Shari’ah law in Syria.
HTS controls significant territory in Idlib province and parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia.
They have engaged in governance activities through the establishment of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), aiming to provide administrative services in areas under their control.
The group has been involved in numerous military operations against the Syrian government forces, Russian troops supporting Assad, and other rival factions within the opposition.
HTS has also conducted operations against ISIS and other groups to assert dominance in Idlib.
HTS is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, the United Nations, the UK and several other countries due to its origins from Al Qaeda and its continued activities.
Hama’s historic significants
In February 1982, the Syrian city of Hama witnessed one of the most brutal episodes in modern Middle Eastern history.
Under the orders of President Hafez al-Assad (Bashar’s father), regime forces killed thousands of civilians.
The roots of the massacre lay in growing tensions between the Assad regime, dominated by the Alawite minority, and the Sunni Muslim majority.
Following growing unrest and a desire for freedom from oppressive one party rule, Syrians, inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, rebelled.
The army, led by Hafez’s brother Rifaat al-Assad, surrounded Hama with tanks and artillery, imposing a total siege and media blackout on the rebellious city.
By the early 1980s, clashes between the Alawite regime and anti-Baathist Muslims opposed to the dictatorship escalated into open conflict.
Hama, a stronghold of resistance, became the epicenter of the fight. Assad decided to make an example of the city.
Over the course of several weeks, indiscriminate bombardment and ground assaults reduced large parts of the city to rubble.
Reports estimate that between 20,000 and 40,000 civilians were killed, including women and children.
Entire neighbourhoods were wiped out.
Survivors alleged witnessing mass executions and other atrocities committed by regime forces.
According to journalists present at the time of the massacre, a “two-week orgy of killing, destruction and looting” left around two-thirds of the city destroyed.
Despite attempts by the authorities to suppress the memory of what happened in 1982, the bloody massacre remains etched into the minds of Syrians to this day.
