Image source, Reuters

The fall of Homs into the hands of the Syrian opposition could mark the end of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, according to an expert.

Professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, Fawaz Gerges, tells the BBC the city is the "nerve centre" of the Assad government and its loss could make the capital, Damascus, "an easier target".

"The state capacity has been degraded a great deal, the writing is on the wall," Gerges says.

"If Assad’s forces don’t really repel the opposition from taking over Homs, I think we could see the end of the Assad regime in the next few weeks or next few months."

Iran is aiming to send missiles and drones to Syria, a senior official tells the Reuters news agency.

Tehran will also increase the number of military advisers to support Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

Intelligence and satellite support is being provided to the Syrian government by Iran at the moment, the official says.

Syria borders Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Israel and covers an area that has seen invasions and occupations over the ages, from Romans and Mongols to Crusaders and Turks.

It is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis, the last of whom make up a majority of the Muslim population.

General Hafez al-Assad seized power in 1970, setting up a repressive political system. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad inherited the presidency.

• You can read more on Syria in our profile

Image source, Reuters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to “crush” the rebels, referring to them as “terrorists” as his government responded to the largest offensive seen in the country in recent years.

In a call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, Assad blamed the US and other Western countries for the offensive, saying they were trying to “redraw the map” of the region.

Pezeshkian emphasised Iran stood “firmly alongside the Syrian government and people”, and preserving Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was a cornerstone of its regional strategy.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia also considered the situation around Aleppo as “an attack on Syrian sovereignty”.

Peskov said it was ”in favour of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible”.

Image source, Reuters

Rebel forces are within striking distance of Syria's third largest city, Homs, according to the SOHR war monitor., external

Taking Homs would cut the main road leading from the capital Damascus to the Syrian coast, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad.

Just yesterday, Syrian rebels said they had taken full control of the major city of Hama, as Assad withdrew his military.

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, leader of HTS, declared "victory" in the city and vowed there would be "no revenge".

Earlier, HTS fighters and their allies took over Hama central prison and released inmates.

In the past, President Assad has relied on Russia and Iran to crush his opponents.

The leader of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) says their goal is to overthrow the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, and to create a new government.

Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani tells CNN that opposition forces have a “right to use all available means to achieve that goal”.

“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime,” al-Jawlani says.

“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it… the Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: this regime is dead.”

Al-Jawlani has long history as a jihadist leader in Iraq and Syria.

In recent years, he has sought to move away from strict jihadist ideology to try to broaden HTS’ appeal, writes the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen.

WATCH: A week of rebel advances in Syriapublished at 10:02 Greenwich Mean Time 6 December

10:02 GMT 6 December

Syrian rebels appear to have captured a large area of land in the country, including most of the city of Aleppo.

The Syrian government and its key ally, Russia, have been carrying out air strikes in response.

A peaceful, pro-democracy uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 turned into a full-scale civil war that has devastated the country and drawn in regional and world powers.

More than half a million people have been killed and 12 million have been forced to flee their homes, about five million of whom are refugees or asylum seekers abroad.

Prior to the rebels’ offensive that began in late November, the war had felt as if it were effectively over after Assad’s government regained control of cities with the help of Russia, Iran and Iranian-backed militias.

However, large parts of the country remain out of the government’s direct control.

These include northern and eastern areas controlled by a Kurdish-led alliance of armed groups supported by the United States.

The north-west is dominated by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), but Turkish-backed rebel factions – known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) – also control territory there with the support of Turkish troops.

Jenna Moon
Live page editor

Welcome to our live coverage as we follow news that anti-government rebels in Syria are making a push towards Homs as they continue a new offensive launched last week.

Thousands of people have been reported to be fleeing the city as the rebels gain ground - but reports from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggest that some locals have welcomed the rebels and "expressed their joy" at their arrival.

Last week, rebels gained major ground in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city.

We'll bring you updates through the day about the situation as it progresses.