Uncertainty grips Damascus as rebels approach Syrian capital

Syria’s state news agency claimed “sleeper cells” were publishing clips on social media from public areas of Damascus to suggest they had taken control of them “with the aim of spreading chaos among citizens”.

The Syrian government meanwhile denied rumours that Assad had fled the city.

Moreover, the interior minister has said there was a “very strong” military cordon around the capital.

But government forces have notably failed to provide any such defence in the cities, towns and villages that have fallen to rebel factions.

Rebel forces led by the Islamist HTS group have made a lightning advance over the past fortnight after launching a surprise offensive, capturing the north-western cities of Aleppo and Hama.

On Saturday night, HTS claimed to be retaking the strategically important city of Homs, and to have freed more than 3,500 prisoners from a military prison there.

Rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said government forces were evacuating the city, while a group of senior officers were “coordinating with us to secure their defection”.

Footage posted on social media purported to show a convoy of government forces leaving Homs.

But Syria’s defence ministry insisted that news “about terrorists entering the city of Homs is unfounded” and said its forces had “strong defensive lines”.

HTS’s progress has also sparked an uprising by allied rebels in the southern region of Daraa, who have taken control of parts of the region. They have headed towards Damascus from the south.