DAMASCUS — Syria’s beleaguered opposition forces suffered another blow Monday when government troops captured a key district in the embattled city of Homs that has been a rebel stronghold since the beginning of the country’s uprising.
The capture of Khaldiyeh is a setback for the rebels in the strategic central heartland, bringing President Bashar Assad’s regime closer to its goal of capturing all of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city — including neighborhoods in its Old City that the rebels have held for more than a year.
The opposition acknowledged the loss of Khaldiyeh, though some activists said there were still scattered clashes in northern sectors of the district.
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A senior member of the Western-backed Syria National Coalition said the regime’s gains in Homs are not irreversible.
‘‘It will be difficult, but not impossible to gain back what we’ve lost in Homs,’’ Hadi Bahra, a member of the coalition’s political committee, said from Saudi Arabia.
Syrian TV aired live video from the neighborhood, showing troops roaming deserted streets and waving flags in front of shell-scarred buildings.
State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed army commander saying the fall of Khaldiyeh would significantly boost army operations aimed at dislodging rebels from central areas of Homs.