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On the morning of 1 March, the situation was very confused due to a total information blackout from Baba Amr. Two opposition groups said that the Syrian Army did not take the quarter, while according to another the army took a portion of the quarter, Avaaz group reported. The Revolutionary Council of Homs said that they had no news on the situation in Baba Amr.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html</ref>
On the morning of 1 March, the situation was very confused due to a total information blackout from Baba Amr. Two opposition groups said that the Syrian Army did not take the quarter, while according to another the army took a portion of the quarter, Avaaz group reported. The Revolutionary Council of Homs said that they had no news on the situation in Baba Amr.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html</ref>


Later in the day, the Syrian Army took full control of the quarter of Baba Amr according to a Syrian official. Rebel leaders reported that they pulled out of the quarter and that some fighters stayed to cover the retreat.<ref>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/01/197926.html Syrian National Council forms military body; rebels pull out of Baba Amro]</ref> During their withdrawal, 17 rebels were killed by the Syrian army.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4197352,00.html 8 Syrian soldiers, 7 deserters killed near Golan]</ref> Aid groups have received the greenlight from the army to deliver the needed supplies and treatments.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/?hpt=hp_t2 Aid plan set as army moves into Baba Amr]</ref>
Later in the day, the Syrian Army took full control of the quarter of Baba Amr according to a Syrian official. Rebel leaders reported that they pulled out of the quarter and that some fighters stayed to cover the retreat.<ref>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/01/197926.html Syrian National Council forms military body; rebels pull out of Baba Amro]</ref> During their withdrawal, 17 rebels were killed by the Syrian army.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4197352,00.html 8 Syrian soldiers, 7 deserters killed near Golan]</ref> Aid groups have received the greenlight from the army to deliver the needed supplies and treatments.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/?hpt=hp_t2 Aid plan set as army moves into Baba Amr]</ref> The UN High Commission for Human rights ([[UNHCR]]) said it had received reports of executions in Homs <ref> BBC News 2 March 2012 [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17228912] </ref> and BBC radio news reported that they had been told of the arrest of anyone over the age of 14. <ref> BBC 5 Live News, 2 March 2012 </ref>


The conquest of the quarter of Baba Amr by the Syrian Army provoked multiple reactions from analysts and officials. An analyst close to the Syrian govrnement named Taleb Ibrahim commented that it was the beginning of the victory, commenting that the army had broken the back of the armed opposition. Free Syrian Army commander Riad al-Asaad vowed to continue to fight until the fall of the government and said that his troops had to leave because of the poor conditions of the civilians. A Lebanese official said that the Syrian Army wanted to retake Homs at all costs and noted that such an outcome would leave the opposition without a stronghold. Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst, analyzed that the Syrian Army used Baba Amr to send the message that it was still the dominant force on the battleground. He noted in addition that Baba Amr was a significant base for the organization and weapons supplies of the opposition.<ref>[http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFL6E8C52E220120301?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 Syrian rebels quit besieged Homs stronghold]</ref>
The conquest of the quarter of Baba Amr by the Syrian Army provoked multiple reactions from analysts and officials. An analyst close to the Syrian govrnement named Taleb Ibrahim commented that it was the beginning of the victory, commenting that the army had broken the back of the armed opposition. Free Syrian Army commander Riad al-Asaad vowed to continue to fight until the fall of the government and said that his troops had to leave because of the poor conditions of the civilians. A Lebanese official said that the Syrian Army wanted to retake Homs at all costs and noted that such an outcome would leave the opposition without a stronghold. Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst, analyzed that the Syrian Army used Baba Amr to send the message that it was still the dominant force on the battleground. He noted in addition that Baba Amr was a significant base for the organization and weapons supplies of the opposition.<ref>[http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFL6E8C52E220120301?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 Syrian rebels quit besieged Homs stronghold]</ref>

Revision as of 15:12, 2 March 2012

Siege of Homs
Part of the Syrian Uprising
File:Syrian Uprising Map of Homs Neighborhoods.png
Neighborhoods in Homs under artillery bombardment 8 February 2012.
Date6 May 2011 – present
(13 years, 4 months, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Homs, Syria
Result

Ongoing

  • Protests largely suppressed in May
  • Sporadic clashes in June–September, with the city largely loyalist-controlled
  • Heavy street fighting in October–January
  • By late January 2012, reports said 2/3 of the city were under opposition control
  • Large parts of four rebel-held districts destroyed in artillery shelling in February
  • Syrian army recaptures the Baba Amr district in late February 2012
Belligerents

Syrian opposition

(from October)

Syria Syrian government

Commanders and leaders
Lt. Abdul-Razak Tlas
Col. Ahmed Jumrek †[2]
Lt. Bassim Khaled

Gen. Fo’ad Hamoudeh
Gen. Ghassan Afif[3]
Gen. Mohamed Maaruf[4]
Col. Midhat Ibrahim †[5]

Maher al-Assad[6][7]
Units involved
Khalid bin Walid battalion
Al Faroukh battalion[8]		 Special Forces (45th reg.)[3]
4th Armoured Division[9]
Strength
200,000 protesters[10][11] (opposition claim)
1000 FSA soldiers[12]

4,000–10,000 soldiers[13]
200–300 tanks[14]

7,000 soldiers (February 2012)
Casualties and losses
2,052 opposition protesters and FSA fighters killed*[15] (opposition claim) 859 soldiers and policemen killed[15] (government claim)
2,814 people killed overall[16] (activist claim)
  • Number also includes civilians.

Template:Campaignbox Siege of Homs The Siege of Homs is a military operation being conducted by the Syrian military in the city of Homs against what the government called terrorist groups, while the opposition called it a crackdown against pro-democracy protestors. Starting in October, street fighting erupted between the security forces and the Free Syrian Army. Homs, Syria's third largest city, has a population of around a million inhabitants and is about 100 miles north of the capital, Damascus. Many Syrians refer to Homs as the Capital of the Revolution. In late December 2011, around ten Arab monitors arrived in Homs, part of "the Arab League plan to halt attacks that overwhelmingly target unarmed, peaceful protestors."[17]

Background

On 15 March, a protest movement against the Syrian government began to escalate, as simultaneous demonstrations took place in major cities across Syria.[18] On 18 March, the most serious unrest to take place in Syria for decades erupted.[19] After online calls for a "Friday of Dignity" (Arabic: جمعة الكرامة), after Friday prayers, thousands of protesters demanding an end to government corruption took to the streets of cities across Syria.[20] The protesters were met with violent opposition by state security forces. The protesters chanted "God, Syria, Freedom" and anti-corruption slogans.[21]

Siege in May

On 6 May, following the successful operation against protestors in Daraa, the Syrian military confronted and clashed with protesters, after Friday prayers, in Homs. During the fighting 15 protesters were killed, according to the opposition, while the government stated that 11 soldiers and policemen were killed, including five at one checkpoint, after they were attacked by unknown gunmen. The following day, an operation was started in another protester stronghold, the town of Baniyas.[22] On 8 May, following the deadly clashes two days before, tanks rolled into several districts of Homs and started a man hunt for all known opposition activists and supporters. The night before the start of the operation, the military cut electricity to the city. During the assault, Army units entered the districts of Bab Baba and Sebaa Amr.[23]

On 8 May, unidentified gunmen attacked a bus, carrying workers who were returning from work in Lebanon to Homs, killing 10 people and wounding three.[24]

By 10 May, total control was established over the city by the military. However, the next morning, tank and machine gun fire was heard in the Bab Amr district of Homs and some nearby villages. Five to nine people were reported to have been killed in the clashes.[25][26]

On 12 May, it was reported that security forces arrested a veteran human rights campaigner, Naji Tayara. An unidentified source, quoted on the Syria Comment website, stated that the wast majority of Homs was against the protests and that the unrest was led by two or three tribes. This was partially confirmed with the fact that Bedouin villages in the area were also targeted by the military operation.[27]

On 20 May anti-Assad protests were met with machine gun fire from security forces leaving 11 people dead.[28] One week later, on 27 May, another protest was attempted by the opposition. This was again suppressed by the military in clashes that left 3 people dead.[29] On 30 May, seven protestors and one member of the security forces were killed in clashes in Homs.[30]

Summer military operations

Main article: July 2011 Homs operation

On 17 July 2011, a large military operation was launched by the Syrian Army. The tanks violently bombed the city, raising questions about what is going on between the Sunni and the Alawites. The victims of the siege of numbered more than 40 people.[31]

On 29 August, there were further reports of violence and machine gun fire following unconfirmed reports of Syrian Army defections in the area.[32]


Protests and street fighting

October – November

All through September and October there were reported clashes in the Northern section of the city especially the neighborhood of Dayr Ba'alba. There was also occasional violence in Bab al-Sebaa, Baba Amr and other places.

On the night of 28 October, fierce clashes involving the Free Syrian Army broke out in Bab al-Sebaa. The next day, these clashes spread to Baba Amr and al-Qusur.[33] During the street fighting in Bab al-Sebaa district 17 soldiers were killed,[34] while in Baba Amr 20 soldiers were killed and 53 wounded.[35]

On 3 November, tanks opened fire on the Baba Amr district, where the soldiers were killed several days before.[36] More than 100 people, including civilians, were reportedly killed by the next day.[37] A number of tanks have been reported to have been destroyed in Homs, by the Free Syrian Army.[38][39][40]

On 8 November, it was reported that the Syrian Army took firm control of the Bab Amr quarter in Homs and that the armed defectors went into hiding.[41]

On 24 November, 11 defecting soldiers were killed and four wounded during clashes on the western outskirts of Homs. Later, the military conducted raids against farms further to the west killing another 15 people.[42][43]

On 25 November, six elite pilots, one technical officer and three other personnel were killed in Homs in an ambush. The Syrian government vowed to "cut every evil hand" of the attackers as a result.[44][45] The Free Syrian army claimed responsibility for the attack on the air base staff.[46]

December

In early December, Sky News Stuart Ramsay was able to smuggle himself and his crew, with help of defectors from the FSA, into Homs where he reported heavy fighting each day despite the heavy presence of Syrian army checkpoints. Moreover, the Free Syrian Army was able to built up checkpoints in the city as well aimed at protection of civilians during demonstrations in suburbs and city alleys after the central square became too dangerous. Video surfaced that purportedly showed defectors in control of Bab Amr again, with a checkpoint at the entrance to check for "Shabiha infiltrators". According to his account, Homs was clearly a war zone which had already slipped into full-scale civil war.[47]

On 4 December, heavy fighting raged during which at least five FSA insurgents were killed and one wounded.[48]

Around 5 December, 61 people were reported to be dead, 34 Sunnis and 27 Alawites. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an activist on the ground reported seeing "the bodies of 34 civilians, in a square in the pro-regime neighbourhood of Al-Zahra, who had been abducted by the shabiha [pro-government militia] on Monday", according to the AFP news agency. The civilians, the group said, had been seized from several "anti-regime neighbourhoods" in Homs, probably meaning Bab Amr. The Observatory also reported the "shabiha" abducted a bus driver and his 13 passengers in Homs province on the 5th.[49][50] Both sides blamed each other for the killings, but both the pro- and anti-government forces stated that each side had enough motive for the killings of the Sunnis and the Alawites, showing the beginning of possible sectarian violence in the conflict.[51]

On 8 December, a pipeline carrying oil from the east of the country to a refinery in Homs was blown up, an activist group said. “This is the main pipeline that feeds the Homs refinery,” said Rami Abdulrahman of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group said flames could be seen at the site of the explosion. Video footage on the Internet of the purported blast site showed black clouds of smoke rising above a built-up area.[52] One military tank was destroyed and seen burning on a city street.[53][54]

On 9 December, fears of a massacre by government forces were building, due to a build up of troops, government militia (Shabeeha) and 500 tanks on the outskirts of the city and an increasing number of checkpoints.[55][53]

On 16 December 200,000 protesters gathered in Homs, the largest demonstration yet in the restive city. This was the second largest protest in the entire uprising, the largest having been 500,000 in Hama.[56]

On 18 December, fierce fighting between regular army units and defectors near the town of al-Qusair in Homs, six soldiers were killed in the clashes, including an officer. According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, "Three armoured vehicles were destroyed and those inside were wounded and killed,"[57][58] a civilian was also apparently killed in the violence.[59]

In mid-December Der Spiegel crew managed to smuggle themself inside the city of Homs where they witnesses Baba Amr district being completely under control of FSA soldiers with checkpoints erected at the edge of the district. According to local FSA commander Shabeeha and army snipers were positioned in approximately 200 places in Homs and were shooting on everything that moved in designated zones like Cairo street which runs through the center of the city. Although FSA defectors did not have power to stand against the all-out assault on Baba Amr by Syrian Army they revealed that they plan to withdraw from district and wait for main bulk of Syrian army forces to withdraw from district as they did in October.[60]

On 24 December, thousands of troops poured into the city and around 4,000 soldiers surrounded the Baba Amr district, digging trenches. The military started an attack on five neighbourhoods and heavy shelling was reported deep into the night.[61] The military continued their shelling until 26 December,[62] killing 33–34 people on the third day of the bombardment.[63][64]

On 27 December, activists told al arabiya that at least 61 civilians had died in the shelling of Homs in recent days but reported withdrawal of Syrian army tanks and halt of ongoing military operations by Syrian army in the city.

Some 70,000 protests gathered in central Homs during the official visit of Arab League observer mission and were later dispersed by tear gas. The head of the Syrian National Council (SNC) Burhan Ghalioun said that the Syrian regime will not permit the Arab observers in Homs to tour the streets or to visit Baba Amr neighborhood.[65]

On 28 December, the head of the Arab League observers said that the situation was calm in Homs and that there were no clashes.[66] He said that they saw some armored vehicles but no tanks. Overall he judged the situation "reassuring so far".[67] He said "there were some places where the situation was not good,” and called for further inquiry.[68] However, one of the monitors spoke to Al Jazeera from Syria on the condition of anonymity said the situation in Homs is "very dangerous" and that it is under constant shelling, and many videos posted online by activists seems to show the orange vested monitors under fire in Homs. He said that some areas are under the control of the Free Syrian Army, army defectors.[69]

Human Rights Watch later accused Syria's government of hiding hundreds of prisoners held in its crackdown from Arab observers visiting the country, saying Syrian authorities have transferred perhaps hundreds of detainees to off-limits military sites to hide them from Arab League monitors in the country.

Human Rights Watch interviewed a Syrian security officer in Homs, who said that he received orders from his prison director to assist with irregular detainee transfers. He said the orders came after President Bashar al-Assad's government. "He estimated that on 21 and 22 December approximately 400 to 600 detainees were moved out of his detention facility to other places of detention." "The transfers happened in installments," the unidentified official was quoted as saying. "Some detainees were moved in civilian jeeps and some in cargo trucks. My role was inside the prison, gathering the detainees and putting them in the cars. My orders from the prison director were to move the important detainees out," he said. He said they were being taken to a military missile factory in Zaidal, just outside of Homs.

Human Rights Watch said his account was corroborated by other witnesses, including a detainee who said that among 150 people being held at one site were people who worked with journalists, defectors, and protesters. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said the security officer also told HRW that the Syrian government was issuing police identification cards to its military officials, which the rights watchdog said was in violation of the Arab League accord. "Dressing soldiers in police uniforms does not meet the Arab League call to withdraw the army," said Whitson."The Arab League needs to cut through Syrian government deception by pushing for full access to anywhere Syria is holding detainees."[70]

Activists and human rights groups have strongly critized the head of the AL monitors, Omar Idilbi of the Local Coordination Committees, described Dabi as a “senior officer with an oppressive regime that is known to repress opposition,” adding that there are fears he might not be neutral. Haytham Manna, a prominent Paris-based dissident, urged the Arab League to replace Dabi or reduce his authority. “We know his history and his shallow experience in the area,” he said. Amnesty International also criticized Dabi, saying that he led Bashir’s military intelligence service until August 1995, when he was appointed head of external security in Sudan. “During the early 1990s, the military intelligence in Sudan was responsible for the arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, and torture or other ill-treatment of numerous people in Sudan,” it said in a statement. “The Arab League’s decision to appoint as the head of the observer mission a Sudanese general on whose watch severe human rights violations were committed in Sudan risks undermining the League's efforts so far and seriously calls into question the mission’s credibility,” Amnesty said.[71] "He won't be neutral, and would sympathise with those in similar positions, thus it won't be surprising if he supports and sympathises with the Syrian regime and its henchmen who are committing crimes against humanity round the clock in Syria," the head of the Syrian League, Abd-al-Karim al-Rayhawi, told the BBC.[72] General Dabi is wanted by the ICC as they have linked him to genocide against opposition in Dafur.[73]

January

On 4 January, Basil al-Sayed, who regularly filmed security forces cracking down on anti-government protesters in his neighbourhood of Bab Amr in Homs, died in a local hospital of gunshot wounds on 27 December, according to news reports. He was reportedly shot by security forces. His footage appeared on the sites of loosely-knit citizen news organisations. The Committee to Protect Journalists says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.[74]

On 11 January, A France 2 journalist Gilles Jacquier, who covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Algeria among others, was among several people killed in Syria's central city of Homs, becoming the first Western reporter to have died in the unrest in the country. A witness in Homs, who asked not to be named, said the casualties were caused by rocket-propelled grenades fired during a pro-Assad rally, while according to a journalist who was quoted by CNN Nic Robertson, with Jacquier in Homs, said that the attack was carried out by mortar. Rami Abdul Rahman, of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, quoted activists in Homs as saying the journalists had been near the Akrama neighbourhood of Homs at the time.[75] State TV SANA later claimed a colonel was captured by an “armed terrorist group” in Homs.[76][77]

A BBC journalist told Le Figaro that the journalist was killed when a rocket targeted a pro-Assad rally in an Alawi quarter of Homs, although another journalist said that Jacquier had been travelling in a vehicle with other journalists that had been hit by an RPG.[78] Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, condemned the killing and called on Syrian authorities to shed "full light" on the circumstances of his death.[79] Meanwhile, The SNC denounced the “murder” of Jacquier, saying it was a “dangerous sign that the authorities have decided to physically liquidate journalists in an attempt to silence neutral and independent media.” Anti-regime activists in Homs also said the authorities had orchestrated the attack, and Wissam Tarif, an Arab campaigner with international activist non-governmental organization Avaaz, undermined the government’s claims. “The journalists were attacked in a heavily militarized regime stronghold. It would be hugely difficult for any armed opposition to penetrate the area and launch such a deadly attack,” he said. Tarif also said the incident was an “unacceptable breach of the Arab League protocol,” to which Syria has committed itself and which requires journalists to have freedom to report across Syria. “The regime has denied journalists free access to the country, forcing them to join press tours organized by the ministry of information and chaperoned closely by regime minders,” he said.[80] However, Arab League mission reports from Homs indicate that Gilles Jacquier was killed by mortar shells fired by opposition forces.[81]

On 19 January, a first lieutenant of the free syria army told reporters that his forces had recently killed 100 of the pro-assad shabiba forces inside Homs and destroyed four tanks.[82][83]

On 22 January, two Swiss journalists blamed Syrian authorities for the death of their French colleague killed in Homs. Patrick Vallelian and Sid Ahmed Hammouche told the Associated Press that they believe the attack was part of an elaborate trap set up by Syrian authorities. The two Swiss reporters and Jacquier were part of a group of foreign journalists being escorted through Homs by Syrian soldiers and intelligence officials. Vallelian, of the weekly L'Hebdo, and Hammouche, of the daily La Liberte, newspapers said the soldiers appeared to know in advance that the attack was going to happen.[84]

On 23 January, a military officer at the main city hospital claimed to foreign journalists that rebels have taken control over two-thirds of the city with army casualties being at 4 to 5 dead and 10 to 50 wounded soldiers and security officials per day.[85] This claim was backed up by the opposition forces stating that they had indeed managed to wrestle control of over half the city. Residents of Homs also largely corroborate these reports.[86]

On 24 January, the LCC reported that at least 18 people were killed when the army shelled two buildings in the district of Bab Tadmor in Homs. A resident said "The buildings were six-story buildings. Many families remain missing. It is hard to confirm the exact number of those killed. A video posted on the internet shows two destroyed buldings, reduced to rubble said to have been the two attacked buildings.[87]

On 27 January a brutal attack took place against Sunni Muslims in Homs killing at least 30 people. Firstly, the Syrian government fired heavy mortar rounds on the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Homs, killing at least 16 people. Then Pro-assad militia called "shabiba" entered a building in the neigbourhood, and killed 14 members of a Sunni family. The Bahader family was found shot and hacked to death, the dead included 8 children under the age of 9. Youtube video footage was taken by activists, showing the family members dead bodies, with wounds to the head and neck including childeren. There was no comment from the Syrian authorites, but a doctor in Homs said "Alawites who had remained in Karm al-Zeitoun mysteriously left four days ago, and the rumor was that they did so on orders by the authorities. Today we know why. We also have seventy people wounded. Field hospitals themselves are coming under mortar fire."[88]

February

Protests in the Bab Dreeb district of Homs during the Syrian uprising.

Activists reported that the Syrian army killed eight civilians and that 15 government soldiers were killed by defectors[89] while the Syrian army entered the Al-Adawiya district, driving out the FSA rebels.[90] The Syrian Al-Watan newspaper reported that 37 rebel fighters were killed in the fighting in Homs.[91] Video footage was posted online reportedly showing a captured government BMP-1, being used in Homs by the FSA's forces. It bears two flags of the Syrian opposition, and is seen firing with armed men in civilian clothes backing it up, and taking cover behind it.[92]

The Free Syrian Army assaulted on, 1 February, the government-controlled district of Bab Drib, which was used as a staging post for Syrian army raids and shelling of other districts such as Karm Al Zeitoun. France 24 journalist saw on the ground at least four FSA vehicles making their way to the frontline. Video obtained by France 24 later showed the FSA overruning the former military base in Bab Drib district.[93] At least four government soldiers were killed in the assault.[91]

The next day, it appeared that another military checkpoint fell to the FSA.[94]

Artillery shelling

Main article: February 2012 bombardment of Homs

Following the killing of 10 Syrian Army soldiers at a checkpoint and 19 were captured by the Free Syrian Army, during the night hours of 3 February and into the early hours of the following day, amongst the 30th anniversary of the Hama Massacre, government forces began an artillery bombardment of Homs, particularly the Khaldiyeh neighborhood, with opposition activisits claiming that it led to over 200 deaths.[95][96] According to the opposition activist group S.O.H.R., after more than two hours of shelling, at least 217 were killed in Homs, with 138 of the deaths having occurred in the Khaldiya neighborhood.[97] They later raised the death toll to over 260.[98]

The opposition Syrian National Council claimed the death toll was at 416 residents of the city. They also cited residents as saying at least 36 houses were completely destroyed with families still inside.[99] According to an Al Arabiya correspondent reportedly in Homs, the district hospital was also destroyed. The correspondent claimed that at least 337 people had been killed and over 1,600 people were injured in the shelling. However, the SNC and Al Arabiya figures were not independently confirmed and several international media outlets (including Reuters,[100] France24,[101] BBC[102] and CNN[103]) still reported the toll of around 200. The FSA vowed to fight back with intense operations against the governments' forces and claimed to have destroyed an air intelligence building in Homs.[104] Opposition activists posted many videos of burning buldings and dead bodies that they claimed occurred in Homs. Some footage showed buildings reduced to rubble from shelling.[105][106][107][108] At least 30 buildings, including a hospital, were destroyed or severely damaged in the shelling.[109]

According to S.O.H.R., in addition to the civilian deaths, 14 soldiers and five army defectors were also killed in the shelling and fighting.[95]

The Local Coordination Committees also initially claimed that the death toll was more than 200 people, saying that they were working to confirm the number of deaths.[110] They later revised their figures with a confirmation of 55 deaths.[111][112] On 5 February, the LCC stated that 181 people had been killed in Homs.[113]

On 6 February, there were reports of new shelling in Bab Amro, an opposition quarter of Homs. A death toll of 12 people killed was given by activists.[114] Other activists gave a different death toll of 50. Residents called as witnesses said that 150 armored vehicles were on the outskirts of the quarters[115]

On 8 February, activists reported an unverified death toll of 48 people killed. They also reported that tanks entered the Inshaat neighborhood.[116] In Bayyada quarter of Homs, a bomb placed in a car killed several people, with civilians and security forces being among the casualties.[117]

On 9 February, activists said 93 people were killed in Homs by artillery shelling.[118][119] Another group of activist gave a lower death toll of 57 dead.[120]

On 10 February, a FSA spokesman reported that Ahmed Jumrek, a FSA colonel, died in the shelling along with four other rebel fighters.[2] Activists stated that tanks of governments forces were stationed in the Inshaat quarter, firing on Bab Amr from a bridge. They also reported that soldiers were damaging stores and cars while conducting a house-to-house sweep.[121]

On 11 February activists reported that Syrian Army tanks started moving from the Inshaat quarter to the edge of the Bab Al Amr district.[122]

A FSA fighter told British journalist Paul Wood, that they summary executed 11 prisoners of war under the pretext that they were Shabiha, following an ambush of armored vehicles in December, during which eight other soldiers were also killed. He also showed him video which he claimed was from one of the Shabiha cellphones showing beheading of opposition prisoners.[123]

On 14 February, an FSA commander told reporters that his men had repelled a ground assault on Bab amr district, saying that four government tanks had been destroyed when they tried to enter, although his claims could not be verefied.[124]

On 22 February 2012, American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik were killed when a rocket hit their safe house. The day before her death one of them, Colvin, had spoken to CNN and others of the "absolutely sickening", indiscriminate attacks on civilians as the regime pursued its objectives.[125] Another photographer, Paul Conroy, and French journalist Edith Bouvier (Le Figaro) were injured during that attack, too.[126][127] Nicolas Sarkozy described the killing as assassination. It is believed possible the journalists were targeted.[128] The editor of The Sunday Times said he believed his reporter had been targeted.

Channel4news published a report online documenting a French photojournalist's visit to Homs. The video showed an attack on the mukhabarat headquaters in Homs. Dozens of fighters could be seen firing on the building, in combat with government snipers. Eventually the fighters won the battle, and the secret police building was burnt out. The video report also featured many residents protesting and mourning the hundreds of civilians killed in continuous government shelling of Homs.[129]

Seven civillian activsts were found executed by the Syrian government because they had been collaborating with the Avaaz action group. The group had been delivering medical aid to Homs. Two others, including a foreigner, remained missing. The foreigner was a paramedic with the group when Avaaz did not reveal his name or nationality, but alerted the country's embassy. "They carried a respirator and medicines," An Avaaz activist said. After losing contact with them, a member of the network on Wednesday "found seven of them shot dead, with hands tied behind their backs... just before the entrance to Baba Amr," the activist told AFP. "Those were civilian activists, unpaid volunteers," he said, accusing the "Shabiha (pro-regime militia) or armed forces" of killing the men whose ages ranged between 16 and 24.[130]

On 27 February 2012, between 62 and 68 bodies were found in a rural area outside of the Syrian city of Homs.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 68 bodies were found between the villages of Ram al-Enz and Ghajariyeh and were taken to the central hospital of Homs. The wounds showed that some of the dead were gunned down while others were killed by cutting weapons. The Local Coordination Committees another opposition group, reported that 64 dead bodies were found, all being adult men. These two sources made the hypothesis that the victims were civilians who tried to flee the battle which was raging in the city of Homs and were then killed by a pro governement militia. [131] [132]

However, other activists reported another version of the killings, saying that the victims were Alawites, from the same sect like the president. The bodies were recovered in pro-government areas.[133] An injured journalist was successfully smuggled into Lebanon by Syrian rebels and volunteers, but the attempt costed the life of a number of rebel soldiers and of 13 volunteers out of the 35 that the Avaaz group sent.[134] [135] The death toll of the operation was later revised to 23 killed.[136]

Government offensive into Baba Amr district

On 28 February, reinforcements from an elite Syrian military unit, directed by the brother of the Syrian president, took positions in Homs. They managed to completely seal off the city, notably by destroying a tunnel.[137] On the morning of 29 February, an activist claimed that the Syrian Army had launched a ground assault with infantry on the rebel-held district of Baba Amr.[138] A Syrian official who spoke on condition of anonymity appeared to confirm that the security forces were advancing on this district, were "cleaning" it from rebel fighters, and that the operation would be over in a matter of hours.[139][140] However, as more reports started to emerge in the late afternoon, it seemed that a ground invasion had not taken place after all, with The Guardian's Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov, his colleague Peter Beaumont and Syrian self-described 'citizen journalist' Omar Shakir all tweeting that the Syrian Army had not entered the district.[141]

Heavy shelling reportedly continued, meanwhile.[142] Although the FSA Al Farouq battalion defending Baba Amr stated that they would fight to the last man, it was reported that some of the FSA leaders already made an escape from the district.[143]

On the morning of 1 March, the situation was very confused due to a total information blackout from Baba Amr. Two opposition groups said that the Syrian Army did not take the quarter, while according to another the army took a portion of the quarter, Avaaz group reported. The Revolutionary Council of Homs said that they had no news on the situation in Baba Amr.[144]

Later in the day, the Syrian Army took full control of the quarter of Baba Amr according to a Syrian official. Rebel leaders reported that they pulled out of the quarter and that some fighters stayed to cover the retreat.[145] During their withdrawal, 17 rebels were killed by the Syrian army.[146] Aid groups have received the greenlight from the army to deliver the needed supplies and treatments.[147] The UN High Commission for Human rights (UNHCR) said it had received reports of executions in Homs [148] and BBC radio news reported that they had been told of the arrest of anyone over the age of 14. [149]

The conquest of the quarter of Baba Amr by the Syrian Army provoked multiple reactions from analysts and officials. An analyst close to the Syrian govrnement named Taleb Ibrahim commented that it was the beginning of the victory, commenting that the army had broken the back of the armed opposition. Free Syrian Army commander Riad al-Asaad vowed to continue to fight until the fall of the government and said that his troops had to leave because of the poor conditions of the civilians. A Lebanese official said that the Syrian Army wanted to retake Homs at all costs and noted that such an outcome would leave the opposition without a stronghold. Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst, analyzed that the Syrian Army used Baba Amr to send the message that it was still the dominant force on the battleground. He noted in addition that Baba Amr was a significant base for the organization and weapons supplies of the opposition.[150]

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Further reading

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