After 2 years, thousands return home to Homs
Bangalore Mirror, India – 10/5/2014
HOMS Syrians streamed back into the ruins of the Old City of Homs on
Saturday, picking through the remains of their homes and trying to
come to terms with the destruction.
Thousands of people walked through the devastated streets of their
former neighbourhoods, some appearing shellshocked by the scale of the
damage.
The influx came a day after the last rebel holdouts left the area
under an evacuation deal that handed the Old City back to the
government, granting it a symbolic victory.
The pullout leaves the rebels confined to a single district on the
outskirts of the central city, once dubbed "the capital of the
revolution" against President Bashar al-Assad.
On Saturday, Homs provincial governor Talal Barazi declared the
evacuated areas safe, after troops swept for explosives. "Governor
Talal Barazi announced that the Old City of Homs is safe and free of
weapons and insurgents thanks to the sacrifices of the Syrian army,"
state news agency SANA said. Residents quickly returned to see what
remained of their homes, and retrieve whatever was left behind.
Many were visibly distressed by the scale of destruction, with rubble
strewn across streets and every building bearing signs of the conflict
that wracked the city.
Rebel forces in the Old City were under government siege for nearly
two years before the deal to evacuate, and regime troops shelled the
area almost daily throughout. "The destruction is just horrible," said
37-year-old Rima Battah, in the Hamidiyeh district of the Old City.
"My husband went to our house yesterday and found it destroyed. We
came back together today to get our things," she added, gesturing to
the five large bags of possession surrounding her. Dozens of families
were doing the same, gathering whatever clothes and keepsakes could be
salvaged.
Nawal al-Masri (51) had worked in the Old City as a seamstress and
returned to check on her former workshop. "Everything is destroyed,
all the sewing machines have been stolen, the fridge has been stolen,
even the generator," she said.
"I've worked here for 30 years," she added. "There's nothing left
except one basket, in which I found a single pair of scissors." She
said she planned to file a request for compensation from a $588,000
fund set up by the local chamber of industry.
Barazi told SANA he was forming committees of local residents to
assess the damage. The evacuation of the Old City by the rebels has
been a symbolic coup for the regime.
State media broadcast live footage from inside the Old City,
interviewing returning residents who expressed their gratitude to the
army and Assad. They filmed inside an Armenian church compound part of
which the rebels has used as a headquarters and field hospital, with a
room filled with hospital beds and medicines.
In the courtyard, rebel graffiti remained, reading "Down with Assad"
and "the days are numbered, the end is coming." Outside, damage was
visible to the compound's facade, and opposite a wall had been painted
with the flag of the Syrian uprising.
The deal to evacuate the Old City involved the release of hostages
being held by rebels elsewhere in Syria, and the entry of aid to two
towns under opposition siege.
A dispute over the aid delivery held up the deal half-way through, but
on Friday assistance entered Nubol and Zahraa, and the final rebels
left Homs.
The rebels were allowed to leave with some weapons and granted safe
passage to opposition-held territory elsewhere in Homs province. But
the government has claimed the deal as a victory, less than a month
before a presidential election that is expected to return Assad to
office.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/news/world/After-2-yrs-thousands-returnhome-to-Homs/articleshow/34935646.cms
Syrian Army Discovers Mass Graves in Old Homs City
farsnews.com 10/5/2014
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army has found mass graves of people killed in the
old city of Homs after foreign-backed militants withdrew from there, media
reports said.
The Syrian army found pile-ups of unidentified corpses in mass graves and a
network of tunnels used by the terrorists in the old city of Homs to travel
to different parts of the city, the Arabic-language Al-Ahd news website
reported.
Meantime, the last group of militants, who declined to surrender to the
Syrian army in the Old City of Homs, arrived in Al-Dar Al-Kabir according
to an agreement signed between the UN and the Syrian government's
reconciliation committee.
Homs is Syria's third largest city after the capital, Damascus, and Aleppo,
The establishment of the city dates back to 3,000 BC and it contains many
historical sites.
The Syrian army advanced in different parts of the Old City of Homs after
the foreign-backed militants withdrew from there.
The army took the city on Thursday after the Militants began leaving the
Old City of Homs Wednesday morning under the supervision of the UN
delegation and the Syrian government's reconciliation committee.
Homs governor, the UN delegation and the reconciliation committee were in
charge of the supervision room to monitor the implementation of Homs deal.
The roads leading to besieged Nubbol and Zahraa towns have been opened to
pave the way for the entry of aid.
The latest reports said residents of the city are now returning to their
homes.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930220000629