For those following the rapidly unfolding events in the latest chapter of the Syrian Civil War, the above map from wikipedia is by far the best I've seen so far.
The big news today is that the remaining Assad loyalists have apparently given up on defending Homs, and are retreating in a panic back to the Alawite heartland of Lataikia and Tartus along the coast.
I would expect Damascus to fall within a few days at this point -- particularly since the Druze and Kurdish led SDF have opened a new southern front that is already approaching Damascus from the south and east. More from the latest Wikipedia has to offer:
In the evening of 6 December 2024, opposition forces captured the regional capital of Suwayda, in southern Syria, following pro-government forces withdrawal from the city.[117][118] Concurrently, SDF captured the provincial capital of Deir ez-Zor from pro-government forces, which also left the town of Palmyra in central Homs region.[119][120] By midnight, opposition forces in the southern Daraa Governorate captured its capital Daraa, as well as 90% of the province, as pro-government forces withdrew towards the capital Damascus.[40]
On 7 December 2024, pro-government forces withdrew from the Quneitra region, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.[121]
Battle of Damascus
On 7 December 2024, opposition forces entered the Rif Dimashq region from the south, and came within 20km's of the capital Damascus.[43] Concurrently with the advance towards Damascus, opposition forces in the north launched an offensive into Homs city.[122] In the Rif Dimashq region, pro-government forces withdrew from the towns of Assal al-Ward, Yabroud, Flitah, Al-Naseriyah and Artouz, while rebels came within 10km's of Damascus.[44]
More significantly, both Russia and Iran are urging their citizens in Syria to evacuate from Damascus while they still can -- it looks like no one is going to be riding to Assad's rescue this time.
