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SYRIA CONFLICT: 'WE WILL BE MARTYRS' SAY REBEL FIGHTERS FROM INSIDE THE BESIEGED CITY OF HOMS
As the final battle for the crucible of the Syrian revolution looms,
Fernande van Tets talks to those who are vowing no surrender
FERNANDE VAN TETS
Thursday 17 April 2014
The Syrian regime is on the verge of winning back the city of
Homs - known as the capital of the revolution for its role in the
three-year-old uprising.
The Syrian army began a large scale military campaign on Monday to
retake the last four neighbourhoods in opposition hands. Those inside
face a stark choice between surrender to the regime or fighting till
death. "Life is disastrous in every meaning of the word," says one
activist inside the Old City.
Following a siege of almost two years, there are less than a thousand
people remaining in the area. The majority are fighters, but there
are several families and two dozen Christians who refused to leave
during a UN orchestrated evacuation in February.
Mortars, shelling and aerial bombardments currently pound the remaining
residents. There is little to stay for; the buildings are burned out
carcasses and there is no food or drinking water. "My last meal was
48 hours ago, and it consisted of grass unfit for cattle to eat" said
Hasan Abu Zain, an activist. The cattle has long been eaten, as have
locusts, pet turtles and cats. Drinking water is found in stagnant old
wells or contaminated with sewage. Morale is low, even before renewed
offensive people were pondering whether to leave the enclave. Tunnels,
previously used to smuggle food, are no longer possible as they have
been sealed off. The only way out is to surrender.
Unable to bear it any longer, three hundred people, mostly rebels
and draft evaders, left the Old City two weeks ago. Another 50 people
surrendered today, according to the governor's office, who estimate
another 5-600 fighters remain. Between 10 and 15 people have been
leaving daily, in exchange for relinquishing their weapons according
to the governor, Talal al Barazi.
The men turn themselves in at the Al-Andalus school, where they are
subsequently held to investigate their involvement in fighting. The
school also holds 100 young men who left the besieged old city during
the evacuation in February. The United Nations halted that evacuation,
in which 1,400 primarily women, elderly and children left the old City,
due to concerns about the fate of the arrested men.
Negotiations to peacefully end the situation in Old Homs have failed.
"It is a matter of deep regret that negotiations were brutally stopped
and violence is now rife again when a comprehensive agreement seemed
close at hand," Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint UN-Arab League Special
Envoy said in a statement, calling the city "a theatre of death and
destruction".
There are some who will not leave, no matter what. "It's impossible
for anybody to go out," insists Abu Jarrah, a fighter who vowed to
fight till the end. "If we retreat the regime will slaughter us, and
all of the people in Homs know this," he said. Although he denied
reports of fighters wearing suicide belts, he said they would be
ready to die. "God willing, we will fight until the last drop of
blood and we will be martyrs." The opposition National Council has
warned of a "potential massacre" if government troops enter the
rebel-held district.
As the regime consolidates its territory in central Syria in the run
up to anticipated elections in June, it is being attacked in other
areas of the country. The northern coastal strip near Latakia, the
homeland of President Bashar al Assad, has come under attack recently,
most notably the Armenian town of Kassab. The city of Aleppo, at a
stalemate with rebel areas facing heavy barrel bombardments for months,
has also seen a new, coordinated push by rebels on the Western part
of the city, held by the regime.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-conflict-we-will-be-martyrs-say-rebel-fighters-from-inside-the-besieged-city-of-homs-9268366.html
From: Baghdasarian
As the final battle for the crucible of the Syrian revolution looms,
Fernande van Tets talks to those who are vowing no surrender
FERNANDE VAN TETS
Thursday 17 April 2014
The Syrian regime is on the verge of winning back the city of
Homs - known as the capital of the revolution for its role in the
three-year-old uprising.
The Syrian army began a large scale military campaign on Monday to
retake the last four neighbourhoods in opposition hands. Those inside
face a stark choice between surrender to the regime or fighting till
death. "Life is disastrous in every meaning of the word," says one
activist inside the Old City.
Following a siege of almost two years, there are less than a thousand
people remaining in the area. The majority are fighters, but there
are several families and two dozen Christians who refused to leave
during a UN orchestrated evacuation in February.
Mortars, shelling and aerial bombardments currently pound the remaining
residents. There is little to stay for; the buildings are burned out
carcasses and there is no food or drinking water. "My last meal was
48 hours ago, and it consisted of grass unfit for cattle to eat" said
Hasan Abu Zain, an activist. The cattle has long been eaten, as have
locusts, pet turtles and cats. Drinking water is found in stagnant old
wells or contaminated with sewage. Morale is low, even before renewed
offensive people were pondering whether to leave the enclave. Tunnels,
previously used to smuggle food, are no longer possible as they have
been sealed off. The only way out is to surrender.
Unable to bear it any longer, three hundred people, mostly rebels
and draft evaders, left the Old City two weeks ago. Another 50 people
surrendered today, according to the governor's office, who estimate
another 5-600 fighters remain. Between 10 and 15 people have been
leaving daily, in exchange for relinquishing their weapons according
to the governor, Talal al Barazi.
The men turn themselves in at the Al-Andalus school, where they are
subsequently held to investigate their involvement in fighting. The
school also holds 100 young men who left the besieged old city during
the evacuation in February. The United Nations halted that evacuation,
in which 1,400 primarily women, elderly and children left the old City,
due to concerns about the fate of the arrested men.
Negotiations to peacefully end the situation in Old Homs have failed.
"It is a matter of deep regret that negotiations were brutally stopped
and violence is now rife again when a comprehensive agreement seemed
close at hand," Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint UN-Arab League Special
Envoy said in a statement, calling the city "a theatre of death and
destruction".
There are some who will not leave, no matter what. "It's impossible
for anybody to go out," insists Abu Jarrah, a fighter who vowed to
fight till the end. "If we retreat the regime will slaughter us, and
all of the people in Homs know this," he said. Although he denied
reports of fighters wearing suicide belts, he said they would be
ready to die. "God willing, we will fight until the last drop of
blood and we will be martyrs." The opposition National Council has
warned of a "potential massacre" if government troops enter the
rebel-held district.
As the regime consolidates its territory in central Syria in the run
up to anticipated elections in June, it is being attacked in other
areas of the country. The northern coastal strip near Latakia, the
homeland of President Bashar al Assad, has come under attack recently,
most notably the Armenian town of Kassab. The city of Aleppo, at a
stalemate with rebel areas facing heavy barrel bombardments for months,
has also seen a new, coordinated push by rebels on the Western part
of the city, held by the regime.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-conflict-we-will-be-martyrs-say-rebel-fighters-from-inside-the-besieged-city-of-homs-9268366.html
From: Baghdasarian