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 the town. Authorities forces shortly 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 need to give his identify, instructed Al Jazeera after coming into Hama: “Thank God we liberated the town of Hama and now we’re securing [it]. With God’s blessing, we’ll enter the town of Homs subsequent.”
Analysts and observers consider antigovernment fighters may 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 the town.
Why is Hama so vital in Syria?
Town witnessed one of the crucial 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 the town.
The focused folks had been a part of a motion attempting to take away the al-Assads from energy and had taken over the town after ambushing military troops.
They killed senior officers and leaders inside the authorities and looted their houses, 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 the 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 professional 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 concern.
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 concern 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 severe 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, may break up aside the regime’s strongholds.
Opposition fighters seem to have reached the outskirts of the town, in response to experiences, whereas hundreds of individuals have fled.
Homs has a bigger inhabitants of Alawis than Hama, however HTS has reportedly provided assurances that minorities in Syria won’t be harmed.
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 positioned.
If Homs falls to the opposition, then opposition fighters are more likely 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.
