Rebels’ offensive catches Assad govt off guard

Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian official said on Friday as insurgents pushed their lightning offensive south towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al Assad’s rule for years.

Seizing Homs would cut off the capital Damascus from the coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.

After years locked behind frozen front lines, rebel forces have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising against Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago.

Assad regained control of most of Syria after key allies came to his rescue. But all have recently been weakened and diverted by other crises, giving fighters a window to fight back.

The head of the Syrian faction leading the sweeping assault told CNN that his group – a former Al Qaeda affiliate now known as Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – aimed to “build Syria” and bring Syrian refugees back home from Lebanon and Europe.

It was Abu Mohammed al Golani’s first interview since his group began seizing territory from Assad’s forces on November 27. Rebels have captured two major cities so far and are now thrusting toward the key crossroads city of Homs.

HTS broke from Al Qaeda in 2016, says it poses no threat to the West and has spent years trying to moderate its image, presenting itself as a viable alternative to the Assad family’s 54-year authoritarian rule.

The rebels’ sweep has taken the region by surprise and emboldened other opponents of Assad. Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany urged top military officers to defect, in a video statement aired on Friday.

Jordan has closed its only passenger and commercial border crossing with Syria, the interior ministry said on Friday.

Armed groups have been firing at Syria’s Nassib border crossing with Jordan, a Syrian army source said.

“It is likely that Tehran will need to send military equipment, missiles and drones to Syria…Tehran has taken all necessary steps to increase the number of its military advisers in Syria and deploy forces,” the senior Iranian official said on condition of anonymity.

“Now, Tehran is providing intelligence and satellite support to Syria.”

The Israeli military said it was reinforcing aerial and ground forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in southwest Syria and was prepared for all scenarios.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, sent a small number of “supervising forces” from Lebanon to Syria overnight to help prevent anti-government fighters from seizing Homs, two senior Lebanese security sources said. — Reuters