Part 4/6:
The push towards Homs is not merely about regaining lost ground; it signifies a broader challenge to the government's authority on a national scale. Recent developments illustrate the shifting dynamics, with the Syrian Army's 4th Division retreating from the eastern city of Deir Ez-Zor and surrendering control of the strategic military airport to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are supported by the United States. This retreat reflects a pattern, as the regime has also abandoned the strategically significant al-Waleed border crossing near Iraq in the southern province of Dara, known as the birthplace of the anti-government protests that erupted in 2011.