Rebels reportedly enter Homs

The battle for Homs, a strategic city between Damascus and Assad's coastal heartlands, continues.

Syrian rebels entered the city from the north and east on Saturday, a resident, army and rebel sources told Reuters.

Jihad Yazigi, an expert on Syria and its economy, told MEE that the fall of Homs would be a disaster for the Assad government and may push his main backers Russia and Iran to act so as not to lose their ally.

"Losing Homs would not necessarily mean the regime falling, but it would surely mean that the Russians and the Iranians are going to push for a regime change, or a meaningful policy change," he explained.

"Because they would be afraid to lose everything."