Late afternoon on December 5th, Operation Deterring Aggression forces seized control of the key north-west city of Hama, the fourth largest city in Syria. This loss is huge for the regime: Hama sits at a strategically crucial crossroads in the country, linking Damascus with regime-held strongholds on the coast and vast interior desert territories to the east. Opposition forces are now expected to continue onwards to Homs.
Developments in Hama
After more than a day of heavy clashes around the entrance to Hama, opposition forces marched into the city center in the late afternoon, amidst a rapid retreat of pro-regime elements. Cheering residents took to the streets in celebration as opposition forces marched through Hama’s central neighborhoods. Forces entering the city also began the release of hundreds of political detainees from the Hama Central Prison.
In a statement released through the Syrian regime’s official media outlet SANA, the regime confirmed that all troops had been withdrawn from the city of Hama to areas further south. This is the regime’s first public admission of losing territory since the opposition’s offensive began on 27th November.
Perhaps as strategically crucial as the city itself, the Hama Military Airport also fell in the afternoon hours after a concerted campaign by opposition fighters to besiege the all-important military stronghold of the regime’s air forces in central Syria.
One of the most important military assets in the country, the Hama Military Airport has been used to launch most regime and Russian airstrikes against civilians in northern Syria and to bombard other opposition-held areas in the country during the past decade.
Hama’s capture by opposition forces is particularly symbolic as the city has a long history of protest and armed resistance to the Assad family. The brutality of the Syrian regime has never been forgotten, from the 1982 Hama massacre to its violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators in 2011. Hama’s return to opposition hands has sparked celebrations in the city, along with initial enthusiasm among Hama exiles living across the north-west and abroad hoping to return home.
Beset by territorial losses, the Assad regime is doubling down on securing Damascus and its periphery.
