Syria conflict: Rebels 'complete Homs Old City evacuation'

BBC News online -- 8 May 2014

Government forces in the heart of Homs. Paul Wood reports

Rebel fighters have completed their withdrawal from the central city of Homs, Syria's state media say.

State television declared late on Thursday afternoon that the Old City was "totally clean of armed terrorist groups" although other reports said the evacuation was not fully over.

Earlier, Homs Governor Talal al-Barazi said more than 1,500 fighters and their relatives had left since Wednesday.

The evacuation marks the end of three years of resistance in Homs.
Syria's third city was once dubbed the "capital of the revolution".

Much of Homs fell to the opposition in 2011, but over the past two years government forces have gradually regained control by subjecting areas once home to tens of thousands to continuous siege and bombardment.

Government forces took full control of the heart of Homs on Thursday, state media said, after the last rebels in the Old City boarded buses and were transported to rebel-held territory to the north.

"Old Homs is totally clean of armed terrorist groups," state television said, using the government's term for those seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

However, Mr Barazi and UN officials were later quoted as saying the evacuation was not fully over.
Mr Barazi said Homs would be declared a "secure city" once the UN-supervised evacuation was complete, and that reconstruction would begin immediately.

The army is not expected to move into the Old City until Friday, when it will be swept for explosives.

Buses began transporting the rebels to rebel-held territory north of Homs on Wednesday morning

On Thursday afternoon, Syrian state TV declared that the Old City had been "cleansed of terrorists"

Homs Governor Talal al-Barazi and the UN's resident co-ordinator, Yacoub El Hillo visited the area

The withdrawal was part of a deal that also saw rebels release dozens of captives and ease two sieges

 

Earlier, Hezbollah's al-Manar television broadcast footage of a group of rebel fighters walking past security forces personnel and boarding several green buses.
There were similar scenes on Wednesday, when 980 people were evacuated.

The fighters, who were each allowed to leave with a rifle and a bag of belongings, pledged to continue the armed struggle and one day return.

Speaking to the BBC at the end of the first day of the operation, the UN's resident co-ordinator in Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said he hoped Homs would now be free from violence.

Battle for Homs

• March 2011: Anti-government protests erupt in Homs within weeks of them beginning in Deraa
• May 2011: Tanks sent into Homs to suppress the dissent; opposition supporters take up arms and oust security forces from several areas
• February-March 2012: Military launches operation designed to crush the resistance in Homs; Baba Amr district subjected to month of relentless bombardment before rebels withdraw
• May 2012: Between 15% and 20% of Homs under opposition control, including Old City
• March 2013: Government launches major offensive to consolidate its control of Homs
• July 2013: Rebels leave Khalidiya district after government assault including Hezbollah fighters
• January 2014: Only Old City still held by rebels; up to 3,000 civilians trapped there, without access to food and medical supplies
• February 2014: UN-Red Crescent operation evacuates 1,400 people from rebel-held areas
• May 2014: Rebel fighters evacuated from Old City

He expressed hope that people would be able to return to their homes, but he cautioned against rushing back because the area was "inundated with unexploded ordnance, including landmines and booby traps".

The Old City was "incredibly and comprehensively destroyed" and was currently "uninhabitable", Mr Hillo said, adding that it would be a "huge task" to rebuild and restore homes and infrastructure.
The withdrawal is part of a deal that will also see rebels release 70 captives in Aleppo and Latakia provinces, and ease sieges of two predominantly Shia towns in the north - Nubul and Zahraa - that are loyal to President Assad.

Mr Barazi told the BBC that those released by the rebels were all Syrians, with the exception of an Iranian woman married to a Syrian man. Efforts to ensure the release of other captives were continuing, he added.

The agreement followed months of negotiations between security officials and rebel representatives, reportedly mediated by the Iranian ambassador to Syria.

There is now only one district in Homs - al-Wair in the north-western outskirts - that is still controlled by the opposition. However, Mr Barazi said he expected a similar evacuation deal to be reached in the coming weeks.

More than 150,000 people are believed to have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011. Another nine million have fled their homes.

Despite the conflict, the Syrian government is planning to hold a presidential election on 3 June. The opposition have dismissed the poll, which Mr Assad is widely expected to win, as a farce.