LIVE- Assad’s regime on the brink of collapse as rebels surround Damascus

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After announcing that Homs is completely in rebel control, jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and other rebel groups are now in a position to strike Damascus.

Homs was a key transit point between two provinces loyal to Assad and where key Russian bases are, and the capital city of Damascus.

With Homs lost and the Syrian army withdrawing from much of southern part of the country, Damascus is isolated and vulnerable.

Rebel forces have announced that they have already started probing the outer suburbs of the capital.

It is the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a years-long siege.

In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country.

Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price.

“The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions.

“People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.”

The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution.

The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.”

Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.”