More than 2,80,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group, the United Nations said on Friday.
Sharing a post on X, the United Nations wrote, “Over 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the recent escalation of violence.”
“Amid already dire living conditions after 13 years of war, the UN is scaling up humanitarian efforts to assist the most vulnerable,” the post added.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents fled the city of Homs, desperate amid the rebels’ advance towards Damascus sparked panic.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that thousands of Homs residents started fleeing overnight towards the western coast, where embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still maintains control, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Fighters led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made significant gains in Syria, capturing two key towns – Rastan and Talbiseh – in the Homs governorate. According to Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the SOHR, HTS forces were just five kilometres away from the outskirts of Homs city.
After capturing the city of Hama to the north on Thursday, the rebels set their sights on the crossroads city of Homs which, if captured, would split the territories under the control of President Bashar al-Assad in two.
The conflict began in 2011 after Assad moved to stamp out peaceful pro-democracy protests during the Arab Spring. Over 3,00,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the United Nations, with millions more displaced across the region, according to CNN.