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The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the militant group leading the attack, told fighters to prepare to take Damascus, 10 days after a renewed offensive in Syria’s years-long conflict, which has largely had become dormant.
“Damascus is waiting for you,” HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Telegram, using his real name instead of his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
But the Defense Ministry insisted: “There is no truth in the news claiming that our forces have withdrawn” from positions near Damascus.
The Syrian army said that in addition to the area around Damascus, it also strengthened positions in the south and began operations against the rebels in the areas of Hama, Homs and Daraa.
AFP has been unable to independently verify some of the information provided by the government and the rebels because its journalists cannot reach areas around Damascus where the rebels say they are present.
Residents of the capital described to AFP a state of panic as traffic jams clogged the city center, people sought supplies and queued to withdraw money from ATMs.
“The situation was not like this when I left my house this morning… suddenly everyone was scared,” said one woman, Rania.
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