What we know:
- Tens of thousands of people have been fleeing Syria’s third largest city, Homs, as Islamist-led rebels make further advances
- A war monitor says rebel forces are now within striking distance of the city
- The rebels seized Hama to the north on Thursday, a second major blow to President Bashar al-Assad who lost control of Aleppo last week
- The rebels’ goal is the overthrow of Assad’s regime, the leader of the Islamist militant group HTS says in a CNN interview
- The rebel push is the largest offensive launched against the government in years, but a civil war has continued in Syria since the Arab Spring in 2011
Verified footage shows rebels approaching Homs
Rebel forces have continued their advance across Syria this morning, with footage geolocated by BBC Verify suggesting that some fighters are rapidly approaching the city of Homs.
Homs links the capital Damascus to the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast, President Bashar al-Assad’s political stronghold and key to his grip on power.
In one clip, which first appeared online in the early hours of Friday morning, fighters could be seen crossing the Al-Rastan bridge on the M5 motorway while shouting “God is great”. The crossing sits just over 22km (13.6 miles) from Homs city.
In another clip, men armed with assault rifles and waving a Syrian opposition flag could be seen leaning out of car windows as a small convoy passed through Talbiseh – a town further down the M5 towards Homs.
In separate footage, another convoy of vehicles were seen stopped in Dar al-Kabera, a town about 10km north of Homs city centre.