Palmyra had already been liberated from jihadist rule twice by Syrian and Russian forces
Terrorist groups in Syria have taken control of the ancient city of Palmyra as their march on Damascus continues, according to Turkish media. Government forces have reportedly withdrawn from a nearby airbase.
The city – which sits on the main road between Damascus and Deir-ez-Zor, where Kurdish militias are currently fighting the Syrian Army – fell to the US-backed Syrian Free Army on Saturday, Türkiye’s Anadolu news agency has reported. The Syrian Free Army is part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a broad coalition of anti-government forces which includes several jihadist groups and local militias.
According to a separate report by Al Jazeera, Syrian Army personnel began evacuating the key T-4 airbase shortly after the FSA entered Palmyra. Along with Damascus International Airport, T-4, which is located between Palmyra and Homs, is considered a vital resupply hub for the country’s military.
The FSA’s assault on Palmyra came after Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadists launched an offensive from the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo last week. HTS fighters have since seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as several towns north of Homs – and are reportedly battling Syrian Army troops in Homs and on the outskirts of Damascus.
Should HTS establish control over Homs, and the FSA over Palmyra, the two groups will be able to attack Damascus along multiple axes.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Palmyra was attacked by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) fighters in 2015, at the height of the Syrian Civil War. The IS jihadists looted priceless artefacts from the city’s museums, blew up the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the Arch of Victory, and used Palmyra’s Roman amphitheater to carry out public executions.
Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra in 2016, backed by Russian airstrikes and members of Russia’s Wagner private military company. While IS briefly retook the city later that year, it was again liberated by Syrian and Russian forces in 2017.
Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian government denied media reports suggesting that President Bashar Assad had fled, or was planning to flee, Syria. Assad has vowed to “eliminate” the terrorists currently heading for the capital, and to punish their “sponsors and supporters,” amid media reports that the HTS militants had received training from Ukrainian military intelligence.
Russian and Syrian warplanes have carried out near-constant airstrikes against HTS positions since the terrorist offensive began last week, reportedly killing dozens of militants north of Homs on Saturday.
