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Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad have entered Damascus as they capped a stunning advance across the country.
Residents of the capital have reported sounds of gunfire and explosions, with the insurgents announcing they had also liberated the Saydnaya military prison north of capital.
On Saturday evening local time, opposition forces took the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
The city stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the Syrian leader´s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.
The rebels had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.
Assad’s office said earlier on Saturday that the President was staying put in the capital and continuing his duties, but reports that the president has since fled the country to exile have emerged.
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Army officials say Assad has left Damascus as rebels close in
