Syrian rebels seize fourth city, close in on Homs in threat to Assad's rule

Damascus [Syria], December 8: Syrian rebels said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa on Saturday, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and the fourth city his forces have lost in a week.
Rebel sources said the military agreed to make an orderly withdrawal from Daraa under a deal giving army officials safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100 km (60 miles) north.
Social media videos showed rebels on motorcycles and others mingling with residents on the streets. People fired shots into the air at the city's main square in celebration, according to the videos.
There was no immediate comment from the military or Assad's government, and Reuters could not independently verify the rebels' claim.
With the fall of Daraa, Assad's forces have surrendered four important centres to the insurgents in a week.
Daraa, which had a population of more than 100,000 before the civil war began 13 years ago, holds symbolic importance as the cradle of the uprising. It is the capital of a province of about 1 million people, bordering Jordan.
Daraa's seizure followed the rebels' claim late on Friday that they had advanced to the edge of the central city of Homs, a key crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean coast.
Capturing Homs would cut off Damascus from the coastal stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite sect, and from a naval base and air base of his Russian allies there.
"Our forces have liberated the last village on the outskirts of the city of Homs and are now on its walls," the Syrian faction leading the sweeping assault said on the Telegram messaging app.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation