HTS rebel commander says forces have begun to enter Homs War monitors, the leader of the HTS fighters and pro-government media all reported late on Saturday that forces loyal to President Bashar Assad had largely withdrawn from the country's third city, Homs. The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdurrahman, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies had withdrawn from Homs, and that HTS forces had started to enter the suburbs.