Assad’s forces are reportedly engaged in fierce battles with rebels on the outskirts of the major city of Hama. A monitoring group said on Tuesday evening that the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies were “at the gates of Hama”,

Syrian rebels advanced toward Hama on December 1 as regime forces “sent large reinforcement” to the governorate, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.Rebel forces captured the towns of Kafr Zita,

Russia and Iran have offered military and diplomatic support to the Syrian government as it tries to stanch a major rebel advance.