Syrian rebels say they have captured Homs

The leader of the Islamist group leading the violence in Syria says his forces have taken full control of Homs – the country’s third largest city.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani called it a “historic victory” and urged his followers not to harm the devotees. The BBC has yet to confirm the claims.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense said the reports were false and that the situation in Homs was “stable and safe”.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the rebel forces are close to Damascus, as the Syrian army says it is increasing the deployment of troops in the capital.

According to the UK-based military watchdog, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), anti-Assad forces have entered the city of Homs and “taken control of many neighborhoods”.

Rebel commander Hasan Abdul Ghani announced the “total liberation” of Homs and wrote in X that more than 3,500 prisoners had been released from prison.

The fall of the city by rebels would be another major blow to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as it would divide Damascus, cutting the city off from the coastal region of his small Alawite sect family.

It would also be a symbolic victory, as Homs served as a base for the opposition in the early days of the civil war, which broke out in 2011.

Ghani said efforts are underway “to liberate the entire country of Damascus, and our eyes are on the capital, Damascus”.

An unnamed US official told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that the city appeared to be a “rebel stronghold”.

A video posted on social media showed protesters singing and cheering as a statue of President Assad’s late father, Hafez al-Assad, was toppled in the southern region of Jeramana.

Residents of Damascus that the BBC spoke to explained the uncertainty there.

“We are afraid because we really don’t know what will happen,” said journalist Zaina Shahla. “No one wants to see fighting in Damascus.”

Rim Turkmani, director of the Syria Conflict Research Program at the London School of Economics, said his sister was in the city and reported that supplies were running out and ATMs were running out of cash.

I Where the president is is being talked aboutsuggesting that he may have fled the country. His office denied all such reports, saying Assad was still working in Damascus – but there had been no sign of him.

Reports that rebels have taken control of Homs come less than a week after they launched a lightning attack – the biggest by the Syrian government in years – and exposed the weakness of the country’s military.

The government also lost control of the northern cities of Hama and Aleppo, while armed groups in the south said they had taken control of Deraa and Suweida, near the border with Jordan.

More than 800 people have died in the conflict, according to SOHR.

According to the UN, at least 370,000 people have been displaced so far – many, including Alawites, fleeing the rebels.

The UN said the fighting was “further worsening the situation for people in the north of the country”.

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pederson, told the BBC on Saturday that he believed a negotiated solution to the growing crisis in Syria was still possible, but he also warned that there could be further chaos in Syria.

Pederson said that different countries are in contact with the rebels and stressed the need to avoid chaos and bloodshed.

He spoke after attending a meeting in Qatar with representatives of five Arab countries, as well as Iran, Turkey and Russia – the three largest foreign countries involved in Syria.

In a joint statement, the organization said that the current crisis threatens security in the region and in other countries.