Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the pro-Turkish group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has ordered fighters to prepare to take the Syrian capital Damascus, France 24 reported.

“Damascus is waiting for you,” al-Sharaa said in a Telegram message to the fighters, using his real name instead of his alias Abu Mohammad al-Golani.

According to media reports, the terrorists also said they started to encircle Damascus after capturing nearby towns on Saturday, but the Syrian Defense Ministry denied that the army had abandoned positions near the capital.

Hassan Abdel Ghani, commander of the terrorist squad from the alliance that launched the offensive in the northwest of the country, said “our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital Damascus.”

The Syrian Defense Ministry said that “the news that our armed forces present in all areas of Damascus have withdrawn is not true.”