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The rebels’ gains prompted Lebanon and Jordan to close border crossings and Israel to reinforce its forces in the Golan Heights.
Dec. 6, 2024Updated 5:12 p.m. ET
The collection of rebel groups fighting to depose President Bashar al-Assad of Syria pushed further south on Friday toward the major city of Homs, moving closer to the capital, Damascus, according to the rebels and a war monitoring group.
The rebels’ stunningly rapid gains spread alarm to neighboring countries, prompting border closures to guard against the prospect of further chaos as Mr. al-Assad’s authoritarian government lost more of its grip over swaths of the country.
And in another sign of the government’s loosening control, a Kurdish-led force backed by the United States, which is separate from the rebels advancing on Homs, said it had deployed in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, which the government had previously held.
Taken together, the battlefield gains present the most serious challenge in years to Mr. al-Assad’s power.
Despite being largely overshadowed by the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, the Syrian civil war never ended and instead fell into a protracted stalemate. Diplomatic efforts to find a political solution have been stagnant for years.
