Syrian rebels have entered the key city of Hama, only days after taking Aleppo in a lightening advance that has surprised the pro government forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad : NPR

Smoke from fighting billows in the edges of the town of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024.

Omar Albam/AP

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Omar Albam/AP

Syrian opposition forces have entered the strategic central city of Hama.

The Syrian army, loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, said it had redeployed outside the city, which lies on the main highway south leading to the city of Homs and then to the capital Damascus.

The renewed offensive came after the rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – which is listed by the U.S. as a terrorist organization for its past links to Al Qaeda, but which has since cut ties with the group – took Syria's second city of Aleppo in a lightening campaign that caught the regime off guard and ended years of stalemate that had led many observers to believe that the Assad regime had won the civil war, which broke out in 2011.

Hama has been one of the few cities in Syria that been completely under government control since the civil war broke out.

It's also a supply route used by Iran to move arms to their Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.

If the rebel forces capture the city fully, it would be a major victory for them since they launched a shock offensive last week which saw them take Aleppo.

Violent clashes broke out on the eastern outskirts of Hama, but Syria's state run media denied that the insurgents had completely breached the city.

But the Syrian Army put out a statement that appeared to confirm the fall of Hama. It said that ” military units stationed there have been redeployed and repositioned outside the city” in order to “preserve the lives of civilians.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.