Syrian rebel forces are now at the doorstep of the key city of Hama, according to war monitors, after a rapid and unexpected offensive that has reignited violence in a region that had seen relative calm for the past four years. The renewed fighting has already triggered a wave of displacement, with families fleeing their homes in search of safety.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported Tuesday evening that the Islamist-led rebels had advanced to the outskirts of Hama, Syria’s fourth-largest city. There were reports of shelling in certain city areas, which caused widespread concern among the populace.
Families Run Away as the Violence Increases
A large number of inhabitants have fled Hama city and the nearby villages in the northern and western regions of the province due to the fighting.
Photographs taken in Suran, a town halfway between Aleppo and Hama, showed families packing whatever possessions they could into cars. Women, children, and the elderly were crammed into cars and trucks, many of them without knowing where they would go next.
“We left everything behind,” one man told a local reporter as he loaded his family into a small van. “All we care about is keeping our children safe.”
The Battle for Hama
The rebel advance is part of a broader offensive that has seen opposition forces capture large areas of northern Syria in a matter of days. This spontaneous surge has shattered a fragile state of mind in the region, mostly surprised.
In order to push back the rebel advance, Syrian state media explained the arrival of big numbers of military reserves in Hama to backup the government troops defending the city.
The Syrian army command issued a communiqué detailing the actions of its forces in strikes “against terrorist groups” reported in northern Hama and Idlib governorates, delivered in conjunction with Russian airstrikes. Russia, a major supporter of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, has played a major part in strengthening the government forces in the course of the war.
Calls for De-escalation
This unprecedent surge of violence has caused anxiety in the international one and the call for de-escalation to prevent further fatalities and suffering.
Yet for families caught between the lines, it is all too bleak. Aid agencies have warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe with flood of the displaced people into the already densely populated areas.
A villager from a village reaching Hama described the painting as uncontrolled. “People are just running,” she said over the phone. “No one knows what will happen next.”
When evening fell on Tuesday, the nature of Hama city the outcome which lie in the balance. At present, the world is watching to see if Syrian government troops, supported by Russian air strikes, will resist the rebel advance—or if Hama will become the next flashpoint in this conflict which has caused so much devastation to the country throughout its history.
