Opposition factions have entered the cities of Talbiseh and Rastan in northern Homs after taking control of the city of Hama and clearing it.
Activists and accounts monitoring the situation on the ground published video recordings on Friday, December 6, showing the entry into the city of Rastan.
The “Observatory 80” platform, which specializes in monitoring military movements, reported that the factions also took control of the city of Talbiseh, but the Military Operations Administration, which manages the course of battles, had not yet announced control of it at the time of preparing the news.
Fighters from both cities appeared in video recordings announcing their readiness to participate in military operations against regime forces.
After the factions took control of the city of Hama, their movement to control the military barriers surrounding the area began.
The regime had controlled Talbiseh and Rastan through a “settlement” agreement brokered by Russia in 2018, but the regime denied it and did not adhere to any of its conditions.
Subsequent “security settlements” did not regulate the state of security chaos in the area.
The opposition factions took control of the city of Hama on Thursday, just hours after the Military Operations Administration announced that its fighters had stormed the city, which was followed by the regime’s announcement of the withdrawal of its forces from within the city and their repositioning.
The factions expanded their control in eastern Hama countryside and took control of the city of Salamiyeh, and they also took control of the two most prominent areas that witnessed violent clashes, which are the town of Qamhana in northern Hama countryside and Jabal Zain al-Abidin.
The leader of the Military Operations Administration, Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, stated that the factions completed clearing Hama military airport, Jabal Zain al-Abidin, and the village of Qamhana north of Hama.
Abdul Ghani called on military units in Homs for mass defection and to head to the city of Hama.
Residents in Homs mentioned to Enab Baladi that the regime had mobilized additional forces in Homs following the control of Hama.
The factions made significant progress over the past three days on several fronts within the administrative borders of Hama province, after taking control of the city of Aleppo and the entire administrative border of Idlib province since the start of the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation.
On the morning of November 27, the factions launched a military operation named “Deterrence of Aggression,” in response to the repeated shelling of northwestern Syria by regime forces, stating that its aim was to expand “safe areas” in preparation for the return of the displaced and refugees.