Anti-Assad military forces announced today (Wednesday) that they have surrounded the city of Hama from east and west and are set to invade it from three directions.
The same forces have also promised to liberate the city of Homs, south of Hama, which would entirely cut Assad's coastal bastion off from the rest of the country, as well as disrupt the supply lines of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah via Syria.
Meanwhile, Assad has reportedly increased soldiers' pay by 50% in a bid to prevent them from deserting in the face of this lightning offensive, which has thus far been an almost unqualified success.