Syrian rebels quicken momentum as Assad tries to shore up defence

Syrian rebels readied to press their lightning advance on Saturday as government forces buttressed collapsing frontlines and bombarded the insurgents’ positions around Homs, in a bid to save President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.

Since the rebels’ sweep into Aleppo a week ago, government defences have crumbled across the country at dizzying speed as insurgents seized a string of major cities and rose up in places where the rebellion had long