Syria Rebels Capture Another Key City in Fresh Blow to Assad
- Army retreats from Hama, half way between Aleppo and Damascus
- Advance by opposition forces puts pressure on Syrian president
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Syria’s army ceded control of the city of Hama to advancing rebel forces, increasing the threat to President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power.
Hama lies about halfway between Aleppo, which opposition fighters captured in a shock attack on government-held territory last week, and Damascus. Next on the road south is Homs, which if captured would potentially cut the Syrian capital off from the main land route to the Mediterranean coast.