23:55 The armed factions that have carried out a blitz attack on the forces of the Syrian army in the last several days announced in the late hours of Saturday evening that it had captured Homs.
The announcement came shortly after spokespersons for the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham said that their forces captured key government buildings inside Homs and were combing various neighbourhoods to secure the city.
The fall of Homs, the third-largest city and the capital of the largest governorate in Syria, marks yet another major setback for the Syrian army in the last 24 hours.
Earlier in the day, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham announced capturing Deraa and Quneitra in the southwest of the country.
The loss in Homs for the Syrian army also comes on the heels of being routed from major cities in the northwest of the country, including Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama, since the start of the assault by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham on the army in less than a week.
Earlier in the evening, government media said the Syrian army redeployed to defensive positions outside Homs on Saturday evening.
However, various media reports suggested that Syrian army units which withdrew from Homs headed straight back to the capital Damascus as the general command of the army prepared for what could be the battle which determine the future of the government of President Bashar Al-Assad.
As the rebels tightened the noose on Homs, a high-level Syrian army officer told Reuters that army and security commanders had departed by helicopter from Shuirat Military Base in Homs to the Mediterranean coastal area.
Videos circulating on social media showed residents tearing down posters of President Bashar and his father, the late President Hafez Al-Assad, in Homs after the Syrian army withdrew from the city.
In a televised statement shortly after the rebel forces breached central Homs, Ahmed Al-Sharaa (aka Abu Muhammed Al-Julani), the commander of military operations of Hayat Tahrir Al-Shaam said his soldiers were on the verge of taking full control of Homs.
In his brief remarks, he instructed his troops to grant amnesty to Syrian army soldiers who put down their arms and not to pursue soldiers who opt to flee the battlefield.
"We are living in the final moments of liberating Homs. We advise the fighters, as we have instructed them before, to show kindness to the people. Those who lay down their weapons should be granted safety, and those who flee should not be harmed," said Al-Julani.
Earlier in the evening, video footage showed tens of prisoners as they walked out of Homs Central Prison free after jail guards abandoned the facility.
21:50 A resident of the Syrian capital of Damascus says the city is agitated as troops and security agency members are deployed on main streets and intersections.
The resident told The Associated Press that many shops are closed and those that are open have run out of main commodities such as sugar.
He added that if food products are available, some shops are selling them for a price three times higher than usual.
“The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said on condition of anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried about a battle (in Damascus) or not.”
A military vehicle belonging to the Syrian regime forces is pictured abandoned on the side of a road in the Hama governorate. AFP
21:40 Speaking at the Syrian border, the Israeli army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: “We are closely monitoring to ensure that local parties (in the Syrian civil war) will not head towards us and we are strongly prepared."
In the same context, the Israeli Walla news website quoted Israeli officials as saying: “We conveyed a message to several opposition groups in Syria and warned against approaching the border," in reference to line separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
21:30 President Bashar Al-Assad might be in Tehran, and not in Damascus as Syrian media said earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported quoting an informed source.
The informed sources added that President Al-Assad has expressed readiness to make a deal with the opposition, which comprises drafting a new constitution in exchange for guarantees he retains control of certain geographic areas in the country.
In tandem, quoting an informed source, CNN reported that Syrian President Al-Assad is not in the Syrian capital.
Earlier in the day, the German media outlet Bild reported that the Al-Assad family left the country for Russia.
File Photo: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. AFP
20:40 Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq are participating in a high-level meeting in Doha on the ongoing crisis in Syria with representatives from the Astana process countries; Russia, Turkey and Iran, Iranian and Turkish sources told Al Jazeera TV.
The meeting comes amid uncertainties surrounding the fate of Syria amid fierce battles between insurgent forces and the Syrian army in various towns and cities in the northwest of the country.
Earlier, the military operations room of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) announced that its forces had breached government defences in the central city of Homs.
This came after HTS took control of Idlib, Allepo, and Hama in the northwest of the country in the past several days.
20:20 Anti-government residents in Duma, a suburb in the northeast of the capital of Damascus, took to the streets in celebrations after government forces withdrew from the area in the early hours of Saturday evening.
Video footage circulating on social media accounts depicted the moment.
20:00 The Knesset Speaker said Israel was carrying out clandestine military operations inside Syrian territories.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army said Saturday that its troops were assisting UN peacekeeping forces in the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights in repelling an attack "by armed individuals."
19:30 Anti-government protesters toppled a statue of Assad’s late father, Hafez, in the mostly Druze and Christian Damascus suburb of Jaramana earlier on Saturday, witnesses told Agence France-Presse.
A witness said he had seen dozens of protesters tearing down the statue in a main square in Jaramana, which bears the former president’s name.
Another witness said the statue had been broken up when he went to the square later.
Video footage circulating online and verified by AFP showed young men toppling the statue and chanting anti-Assad slogans.
19:10 The General Command of the Syrian Army said in a televised statement read by the spokesperson that they “are reinforcing the lines of deployment of our forces in the Damascus countryside and the southern regions to prevent any incidents”."
The spokesperson added that the Syrian army “continues to carry out its operations in Homs, Aleppo and Hama and inflicts losses on terrorists."
“Media platforms affiliated with terrorists are spreading misleading news while we continue to carry out qualitative operations," said the Syrian army’s spokesperson.
18:50 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is continuing to perform his duties from Damascus, his office said on Saturday, denying reports he had left as rebels advance towards the capital.
It condemned "rumours and false news about President Bashar al-Assad leaving Damascus," adding that Assad "is following up on his work and national and constitutional duties from the capital".
Speaking to reporters in Damascus, the Syrian interior minister said government troops have solidified defensive positions in and around the capital.
"No one can breach these defensive lines," he said.
18:40 US President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should "not get involved" in the situation in Syria, where fast-moving insurgents say they have begun to encircle the capital Damascus.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He posted the message shortly before he arrived at the Elysees Palace to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron while in Paris for the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Men gather around the back of a truck as anti-government forces distribute bread to the residents of Hama days after they were captured and took control of the central Syrian city. AFP
18:30 The need for an orderly political transition in Syria has never been more urgent, the UN envoy for Syria said on Saturday.
Speaking at a briefing in Doha, Geir Pedersen called for calm and avoidance of bloodshed in Syria, according to the Guardian.
Pedersen also met with US representatives and other Western envoys in the Qatari capital.
A military vehicle belonging to the Syrian regime forces seized by anti-government forces burned after it was hit by regime forces in the Hama governorate. AFP
18:15 Al Jazeera reporters in Syria say insurgents have broken through Syrian army defences in the city of Homs in central Syria on Saturday afternoon.
Residents celebrate in the Syrian city of Salamiyah in the Hama governorate, days after anti-government forces captured and took control of the area. AFP
17:30 Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya, according to the Guardian.
He said opposition forces were also marching from eastern Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, an insurgent commander, posted on Telegram that opposition forces had started to encircle Damascus in the “final stage” of their offensive.
He said opposition forces were heading from southern Syria towards Damascus.
Anti-government fighters parade in the streets of Hama after forces captured the central city. AFP
17:00 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran, Moscow, and Ankara agreed on the initiation of "political dialogue between the Syrian government and the "legitimate opposition groups".
Arghachi's remarks came after the discussions in Doha with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Hakan Fidan.
Anti-government forces walked into Hama days after they captured and took control of the central Syrian city. AFP
16:45 A spokesperson for the Iraqi government confirmed that 2,000 Syrian soldiers have crossed into Iraq and are being hosted by the Iraqi army.
15:00 Local sources told Al Jazeera that Syrian forces and their security units in Al Bukamal fled with their equipment into Iraq and surrendered to the Iraqi army.
A general map of Syria. Photo courtesy of Britannia website.
14:00 Assad forces evacuated military and security positions while civil servants left their posts, leaving the province (of Quneitra)... free of the Syrian army for the very first time, said Rami Abdel Rahman who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
13:00 Syrian troops withdrew from their positions in the southern province of Quneitra bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, a war monitor told AFP.
"Regime forces evacuated military and security positions while civil servants left their posts, leaving the province (of Quneitra)... free of the Syrian army for the very first time," said Rami Abdel Rahman who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
12:00 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad failed to engage with his people and address issues like the return of refugees during a period of calm in the country's war, Qatar's prime minister said Saturday.
"Assad didn't seize these opportunities to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people, and we didn't see any serious movement, whether it's on the return of the refugees or on reconciling with his people," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said at the Doha Forum for political dialogue.
Qatar -- which gave early support to the rebels after Assad's government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011, leading to the civil war -- remains a fierce critic of the Syrian leader but is calling for a negotiated end to the fighting.
Sheikh Mohammed said the world had been "surprised" by the speed of a recent rapid advance by Islamist-led rebels in Syria and cautioned that the situation might become "more and more dangerous", threatening a return to a more intense level of civil war.
He added such an outcome would "damage and destroy what's left if there is not any sense of urgency to start putting (in place) a political framework for what's happening over there... to find a political solution".
10:00 Turkey's foreign minister will meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Doha on Saturday to try to find a solution to the renewed fighting in Syria and avoid chaos on its doorstep.
The three countries have been partners since 2017 in the Astana process, seeking to end the civil war in Syria even if they have supported opposite sides on the battlefield.
Moscow and Tehran have offered military support to help Damascus against militant groups.
Meanwhile, Ankara, without being directly involved, has supported various militant groups and looked at their recent lightning advances favourably.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who this week called on Assad to "reconcile with his people", said Friday he "hoped the advance of the rebels would continue without incident", openly identifying their objective as Damascus.
Turkey is no simple bystander, sharing a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Syria and hosting nearly three million Syrian refugees.
For the moment, "the precise role of Turkey in this situation remains a topic of speculation," said Omer Ozkizilcik, a researcher in Ankara linked to the Atlantic Council.
"But what is clear is that without being directly involved, Turkey gave its green light to the offensive," he said.
09:00 Syria's army said it was redeploying in two southern provinces Saturday after a war monitor reported Damascus had lost control of most of Daraa province, the cradle of the country's 2011 uprising.
"Our forces operating in Daraa and Sweida are redeploying and repositioning, and establishing a... security cordon... after terrorist elements attacked remote army checkpoints," the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said in a statement carried by state media.
On Friday evening, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said local factions had taken control of more than 90 percent of Daraa, including the eponymous city.
In neighbouring Sweida, the Britain-based monitor and local media said the governor, the police and prison chiefs, and the local ruling Baath Party leader had left their offices as local fighters took control of several checkpoints.
The army's statement said it was "beginning to regain control in Homs and Hama provinces in the face of terrorist organisations", as rebels who launched a stunning offensive last week, taking key cities Aleppo and Hama, battled troops near Hims.
Sweida is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority and has witnessed anti-government demonstrations for more than a year.
Damascus has turned a blind eye to tens of thousands of Druze men refusing to undertake compulsory military service. The vast majority of them have not taken up arms against the government.
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