THE Syrian army has withdrawn from the central city of Hama after insurgents broke through its defences, the military said today.

The latest setback for President Bashar al-Assad came hours after opposition fighters said they had entered the city and were marching toward the centre.

The Syrian army said it redeployed from Hama and took positions outside the city to protect the lives of civilians.

The capture of Hama follows the take over by jihadists, which Damascus describes as terrorists, of much of the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest city.

On Thursday morning, Syrian insurgents said they entered Hama after three days of intense clashes with government forces on its outskirts.

The local commander for the insurgents, identified as Major Hassan Abdul-Ghani, was quoted on their Military Operations Department channel on the Telegram app today, saying: “Our forces are taking positions inside the city of Hama.” 

The Syrian army said in a statement later that a number of troops were killed after resisting the insurgents for days. It said the attackers had used suicide attacks to break through the city’s defences.

Hama is a major intersection point in Syria that links that country’s centre with the north as well the east and the west. 

It is about 125 miles north of the capital, Damascus. Hama province also borders the coastal province of Latakia, a main base of popular support for President Assad.

The offensive is being led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaida affiliate, as well as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. 

The next target of the insurgents is likely to be the central city of Homs, the country’s third largest. Homs is about 25 miles south of Hama.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the renewed fighting, which began with the surprise opposition offensive on November 27.