Anti-government rebels in Syria have surrounded the strategically crucial city of Hama on three sides, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Thursday.
Shortly after that, rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany wrote on social media that insurgents had penetrated the city.
SOHR said that the rebels were able to make significant advances, despite the government sending "large military convoys to Hama" and the surrounding area in the last 24 hours.
They added that the Syrian army has been joined by Russian and Iranian officers, as both countries have been longtime allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Now, however, government troops are "left with only one exit towards Homs to the south."
State news agency SANA confirmed that the government was waging "fierce battles" across Hama province, led by "joint Syrian-Russian warplanes."
German news agency DPA said that award-winning Syrian photographer Anas Alkharboutli was killed in one of the airstrikes on Hama.
Surprise offensive
The violent clashes clashes follow a surprise offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist rebels and their allies last week. The group quickly captured the city of Aleppo, which has never been out of government hands in over a decade of war in Syria.
HTS has its roots in the Syrian branch of the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
Control of Hama is considered strategically significant because the city connects Aleppo with the capital Damascus. Moreover, although Hama city was home to large protests against Assad's rule in 2011, the province is home to a great number of Alawites. This is the community from which Assad hails and provides a strong base of support for the president.
The United Nations has said that hundreds of people, mostly fighters, have been killed in the latest flare-up of violence in Syria, and some 115,000 have had to flee their homes.
Source: DW
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
