Hezbollah withdraws forces from Homs, Damascus outskirts

Hezbollah is pulling its forces from the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus and the Homs area, a source close to the Lebanese group said Sunday, as their ally President Bashar al-Assad faces a rebel offensive.

The group "has instructed its fighters in recent hours to withdraw from the Homs area, with some heading to Latakia (in Syria) and others to the Hermel area in Lebanon", the source told AFP, noting that "Hezbollah fighters have also vacated their positions around Damascus."

Islamist-led rebels announced on Sunday they had started entering the Syrian capital Damascus, where residents told AFP they heard heavy gunfire.

"Our forces started entering Damascus," Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said on Telegram.

The Syrian military and security forces have left Damascus airport, a war monitor said Sunday after rebels vowed to take their lightning offensive to the capital.

Sources from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported officers and soldiers of government forces withdrew from Damascus International Airport, as residents in the capital told AFP they heard gunfire in the city.