Syrian army announces exit from key city

The central city of Hama has been surrounded by jihadist forces.

The Syrian army has announced its withdrawal from the central city of Hama after fierce fighting with Islamist militants.

In a statement issued on Facebook, the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said that over the past few days, the nation’s troops have “fought fierce battles” to repel and thwart the “violent and successive” attacks launched by the jihadists.

However, the intensification of the fighting and the rising death toll have prompted the army to redeploy and reposition its units, the statement read.

The decision was made in order “to preserve the lives of civilians” and not to involve them in battles, it stressed.

Damascus also said that the militants suffered “heavy losses” in their ranks during the fight.

The army confirmed that it “will continue to carry out its national duty in reclaiming the areas entered by terrorist organizations.”

Hama is strategically located in central Syria, about 200km from the capital Damascus; it is also approximately 50km of the city of Homs.

The fighting around Hama has been particularly fierce, according to media reports, since the Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies launched a large-scale surprise attack in the northwestern part of the country last week.

Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham, which translates as “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant” and is commonly known as HTS, is considered a terrorist organization by Syria, Russia, Iran, the US, and other countries.

The insurgents have pushed back government forces and captured significant chunks of territory in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. Aleppo, which is the second-largest city in the country, had been under Syrian government control since 2016.

Last week’s Islamist attack was the first major clash between jihadist and Syrian government forces since March 2020, when Russia and Türkiye brokered a ceasefire in the country.

Moscow said on Wednesday that Russia, Iran and Türkiye were in “close contact” over the escalation in Syria.

Moscow intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2015, helping to inflict heavy defeats on numerous terrorist groups, most notably al-Nusra and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). Russia maintains a significant military presence in the country and has military bases in Hmeimim and Tartus.

Human Rights Watch warned on Wednesday that the fierce fighting in Syria between the government forces and jihadists “raises concerns that civilians face a real risk of serious abuses.”