Syrian rebels led by Islamist militants have entered the central city of Homs as they close in on Damascus while the country’s main allies — Russia and Iran — scrambled to protect the regime of authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad and their own assets in the country.
Abu Mohammad al-Golani, a leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, said late on December 7 that the insurgent fighters were “in the final moments of liberating” Homs, a city of 775,000 people.
HTS is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Britain, Canada, and the European Union.
Experts said the future of the Assad regime was hanging in the balance — and that, if it fell, it would also represent a major geopolitical setback for the Kremlin which, along with Tehran, has supported the Syrian government through many years of civil war.
Media reports said many residents of Damascus were …