Opposition fighters in Syria captured the strategic city of Hama on Thursday in a matter of hours.
Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which implies the Committee for the Liberation of the Levant, led the offensive as they stormed town. Authorities forces rapidly retreated.
Inhabitants appeared to welcome what many described because the liberation of their metropolis from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s clutches.
One HTS fighter, who didn’t wish to give his title, instructed Al Jazeera after coming into Hama: “Thank God we liberated town of Hama and now we’re securing [it]. With God’s blessing, we are going to enter town of Homs subsequent.”
Analysts and observers consider antigovernment fighters might seize many of the nation, however say Hama has a selected worth for the Syrian opposition.
That is what we all know in regards to the strategic and symbolic significance of town.
Why is Hama so vital in Syria?
The town witnessed probably the most brutal acts of repression in Syrian historical past, analysts and observers say.
In 1982, al-Assad’s father, Hafez, who was then president, ordered the killing of members of the Muslim Brotherhood who had been occupying town.
The focused folks had been a part of a motion attempting to take away the al-Assads from energy and had taken over town after ambushing military troops.
They killed senior officers and leaders throughout the authorities and looted their properties, in response to a report by the European Council for International Relations, a assume tank primarily based in the UK.
The group’s operations attracted widespread assist and triggered an rebellion towards the federal government within the metropolis.
The federal government responded by bombing Hama for a number of days whereas Syrian troops moved in to crush the rebellion.
Within the following weeks, Syrian forces laid siege to town, going door to door to kill, torture and arrest any younger males they believed to be with the opposition, in response to Amnesty Worldwide.
It’s estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 folks had been killed in Hama – the exact determine continues to be unknown.
“It was the notice of the mass arrests and executions that terrified folks,” mentioned Robin Yassin-Kassab, an skilled on Syria and the co-author of, Burning Nation: Syrians in Revolution and Warfare.
“[The episode] made Syria a kingdom of silence,” he instructed Al Jazeera.
The 2011 Syrian rebellion momentarily shattered that barrier of worry.
As protests swept the nation, inhabitants of Hama gathered and sang “Yalla erhal ya Bashar,” which interprets to “Come on and depart, Bashar!”
Protesters in Hama carried olive branches and crowds reached greater than 500,000 folks, activists instructed Al Jazeera in 2011.
What did the Syrian regime do to Hama in 2011?
All throughout Syria, authorities forces violently repressed demonstrations in 2011, together with in Hama.
For greater than a decade, the regime barrel-bombed cities and arrested and tortured activists and perceived opponents.
The federal government usually relied on Alawi, in addition to Shia, armed teams, each from Syria and throughout the area, to crack down on protesters.
The Alawi sect in Syria is an offshoot of Shia Islam to which al-Assad and his household belong.
Yassin-Kassab mentioned many consider the barrier of worry has been shattered for a second time after insurgent teams captured Aleppo and now Hama inside days.
In Hama, scenes of prisoners of conscience being liberated from the central jail prompted celebrations by Syrians.
Within the metropolis, inhabitants tore down a statue of Hafez al-Assad.
“I thought Hama is the place [the government and its loyalists] would put up a critical battle … however they weren’t succesful,” mentioned Yassin-Kassab.
“After Hama [was liberated], I assumed to myself: ‘The Syrian revolution is again.’”
Is Hama strategically vital?
Very a lot so.
The seize of Hama permits insurgent teams to maintain transferring down the Aleppo-Damascus M5 freeway towards Homs, which if captured, might break up aside the regime’s strongholds.
Opposition fighters seem to have reached the outskirts of town, in response to experiences, whereas 1000’s of individuals have fled.
Homs has a bigger inhabitants of Alawis than Hama, however HTS has reportedly provided assurances that minorities in Syria is not going to be harmed.
The town is successfully a gateway to Syria’s capital, Damascus, in addition to to the coastal provinces of Tartous and Latakia, that are Alawi heartlands and the place Russian naval and air bases are situated.
If Homs falls to the opposition, then opposition fighters are prone to push on to attempt to take Damascus, mentioned Yassin-Kassab.
“I do assume if Homs falls, then that would be the starting of the top for the [Assad regime],” he instructed Al Jazeera.
