The US believes the Assad regime could fall within days

• US officials say the Assad regime could fall from power by next week.
• The Pentagon is not ready to change its stance, an official says.
• The fall of the regime is an “increasingly plausible scenario,” says one official.

Officials in the Biden administration, closely monitoring the changing situation in Syria with rebels advancing rapidly on Damascus, suggest that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime could collapse within days as rebels have come within 30 kilometers of Damascus .

They said Assad’s hold on power was increasingly shaky. “Probably by next weekend the Assad regime will have lost all semblance of power,” one official told the CNN.

“The only thing that would delay a rebel takeover would be a well-organized coup and reorganization, but Assad’s people have done a good job of stifling any potential rivals.”

The statement by US officials comes as a dramatic shift unfolds in Syria as rebels push towards the capital, Damascus, and fight for control of Homs, a strategically vital city.

In Homs, rebels have breached government defenses from multiple directions, capturing a camp and several villages, according to rebel commanders and local residents.

State media, however, say the army is holding ground on the outskirts of the city, using artillery and drones.

Meanwhile, US officials noted that the Pentagon, with 900 troops stationed in Syria, has not changed its military posture but has adopted additional security measures.

The question of Assad’s possible escape remains unresolved, with Moscow or Tehran emerging as possible destinations should his regime fall with the ruler saying he would leave the country.

The recent rebel takeover of Aleppo has caused a domino effect, with government defenses rapidly collapsing one after the other.

Demonstrators in the suburbs of Damascus tore down symbols of the Assad family, along with some deserting soldiers. But state media say Assad is still in the capital and military reinforcements are being mobilized.