The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the Damascus government army has withdrawn from the city of Hama, where it was positioned after leaving Aleppo.

SOHR noted that the military convoys of the Damascus government army have withdrawn from Hama to Homs.

SOHR also said that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gangs have taken control of 16 villages in Hama.

The Damascus government army denied reports that it has withdrawn from Hama and announced that it is positioned in the north and east of the city and is ready to respond to any attack.

HTS gangs said that they have taken control of the cities of Meret Numan and Xan Şêxon in Idlib.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a jihadist alliance that has controlled Idlib province in northwestern Syria since 2017, formed by the merger of several Islamist groups, including the al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra, which rebranded as Fateh al-Sham in 2016. Listed as a “terrorist” organization by the UN Security Council, HTS has expanded its influence into SNA-held northern Syria, often with the tacit approval of Turkey. HTS seeks to project an image of respectability and governance reliability, despite reports of an increasingly totalitarian regime and Islamist theocracy in Idlib. The international community should be wary of HTS’s expansion into Turkish-occupied territory, as it has been linked to anti-Semitic propaganda and has ties to al-Qaeda, despite efforts to distance itself from its jihadist roots. Notably, a perpetrator involved in a foiled terrorist attack in Munich expressed sympathy for HTS, highlighting the group’s continued relevance in the broader landscape of extremist threats.