They were advancing south – and Homs was the next city on the road from Aleppo to Damascus.
Terrified members of President Assad’s Alawite minority flee Homs, footage shows roads clogged with cars.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said fighter jets targeted a bridge on the road connecting Homs and Hama to try to slow the rebel advance.
After the Syrian military lost control of Hama after days of fighting, it is unclear whether they will be able to defend Homs.
It is a strategic city linking the capital to the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast, Assad’s political stronghold and key to his grip on power.
More than half a million people have been killed since civil war erupted in 2011 following the Assad government’s brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests.
The rebel advance, which began nine days ago, is the fastest on the battlefield by either side since the civil war.
SOHR reports that more than 820 people, including 111 civilians, have been killed across the country.
