伦敦-叙利亚官方媒体周四表示，面对叛军的推进，政府军正在从哈马市撤出，这标志着总统巴沙尔·阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)及其在俄罗斯和伊朗的支持者再次遭遇重大挫折。
叙利亚阿拉伯通讯社说，政府军撤回到叙利亚中部城市以外的阵地。这份报告是在反对派武装人员----由Hayat Tahrir al-Sham集团领导----声称已经进入该市并向市中心进攻数小时后发布的。
叙利亚军队表示，在叛军突破政府军在哈马的防线后，军队已经撤离。军方指责反对派组织利用自杀式袭击突破政府防线。SANA报道称，该市郊区的战斗“非常激烈”。
据SANA报道，军队总指挥部表示，撤军是为了通过避免城市内部的战斗来“保护平民的生命”。
哈马是叙利亚第四大城市。它位于首都大马士革以南和叙利亚第二大城市阿勒颇以北之间。11月29日，阿勒颇被叛军闪电攻势攻陷。在2011年反对阿萨德统治的革命之后，哈马是少数几个没有落入反政府武装手中的主要城市之一。
反对派的攻势是由HTS和土耳其支持的叙利亚民兵组织叙利亚国民军发起的。
叛军占领哈马将有助于他们向南方不到30英里的霍姆斯市发起进攻。
在西部，哈马省与拉塔基亚接壤，后者被认为是阿萨德政府支持的中心地带。拉塔基亚是俄罗斯赫梅米姆空军基地的所在地，这是莫斯科在中东和地中海地区力量投射的关键设施。
Syrian army withdraws from key city of Hama amid rebel surge, state news reports
LONDON --Syrian state media said Thursday that government forces were withdrawing from the city of Hama in the face of a rebel advance, marking another major setback for President Bashar al-Assad and his backers in Russia and Iran.
The Syrian Arab News Agency said government forces withdrew to positions outside the central Syrian city. The report came hours after opposition fighters -- led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group -- claimed to have entered the city and struck towards its center.
The Syrian army said its troops withdrew after rebel fighters broke through government defenses in Hama. The army accused the opposition groups of using suicide attacks to breach government lines. The fighting on the outskirts of the city was "intense," SANA reported.
The army's General Command said the withdrawal was ordered to "preserve civilian lives" by avoiding fighting inside the city, SANA reported.
Hama is Syria's fourth largest city. It sits between the capital Damascus to the south and Aleppo -- Syria's second city -- to the north. Aleppo fell to the lightning rebel offensive on Nov. 29. Hama was one of the few major cities that did not fall to anti-government forces following the 2011 revolution against Assad's rule.
The rebel offensive is being waged by HTS and a collection of Turkish-backed Syrian militias known as the Syrian National Army.
The rebel capture of Hama would facilitate an attack towards the city of Homs, less than 30 miles to the south.
To the west, Hama province borders Latakia, which is known as a heartland of Assad government support. Latakia is home to the Russian Khmeimim air base -- a key facility for Moscow's power projection in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
