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On Tuesday, the Syrian army backed by pro-regime militia entered rebel-held neighbourhoods in the city of Homs after laying siege to them for almost two years. The assault comes a day after the regime had regained control of the Christian town Maalula in Qalamun. Earlier this year, a UN operation had evacuated over 1,400 people trapped in the besieged neighbourhoods in Homs, although 1,300 more people, most of whom were fighters, decided to stay behind.
As reported in Syrian State Television, “the Syrian army and the (pro-regime militia) National Defence Forces have achieved key successes in the Old City of Homs”. It added that the forces were advancing in many besieged neighbourhoods, and had “killed a number of terrorists”, using President Bashar Assad’s term for the rebel forces.
Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and on the ground in Syria have confirmed the operation. According to activist Abu Bilal in Syria, the army had “entered into one (besieged) area, Wadi al-Sayeh, which lies between Juret al-Shiyah and the Old City. This is the first time the regime has entered the besieged areas since it took Khaldiyeh district in summer 2013”. Another activist on the ground, Abu Fehmi, said that the army was “bombing very, very intensely”. Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said that “the military operation began yesterday after NDF forces were deployed to strengthen the regime troops’ presence”.
Homs is the third largest city in Syria and has been long referred to activists as the “capital of the revolution” as several large protests were held in the city during the uprising which began in March 2011. Most of Homs is now under the control of the regime; rebel-held parts of the city have been under a constant government siege for almost two years. In February, Syria’s Red Crescent and the UN had managed to evacuate around 1,500 people and deliver some aid in the besieged areas.
