Syrian Forces Pound Homs, Western Diplomacy Continues
February 09, 2012
Edward Yeranian | Cairo
Syrian government forces continued their attacks Thursday on several rebellious areas across the country, including the embattled central city of Homs, as divided world powers struggled to end the escalating crackdown against an 11-month opposition uprising.
The ferocious shelling in the Homs region erupted at dawn, leaving at least 57 dead, and targeting Baba Amr and other largely Sunni Muslim districts protected by the rebel Free Syrian Army.
Activists say that hundreds have died since the offensive began early Saturday. Several neighborhoods reportedly are without water and electricity, and basic supplies are running low.
Video footage from Homs
Witnesses say the government forces fired rockets, mortars and heavy artillery into parts of Homs on Thursday, blasting holes into buildings and causing numerous casualties. It was the sixth consecutive day of the offensive.
VOA spoke with a Syrian activist in Homs who goes by the alias Abo Emad to conceal his identity. He said Syrian security forces are not letting up on their assault, adding that even walking one block from the building where he is hiding can be deadly.
“Everyday is worse than the day before," he said of the government assault. "More deaths, more casualties, more injured people. More destroying buildings, more. Everything bad is more everyday.”
He also said there is very little access to mobile phones or landlines. He added that hospitals are overflowing with injured people and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to care for the wounded.
Homs suburb under siege
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London told Alhurra TV that the shelling hit a number of districts and is creating a human crisis. He said that sporadic shelling engulfed parts of the city, including Khaldiyeh and Bayadah, but that the heaviest onslaught is against the Baba Amr district, where conditions are extremely difficult.
Government forces are focusing on Baba Amr as it has been a center of the opposition.
In an opposition video, Muhammad al Muhammad, a doctor who is treating the wounded in Baba Amr, urged Syrians and the world community to protest the shelling attacks. He pointed to five children who appear to be wounded and called on Syrians to take to the streets to protest.
VOA cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video's contents.
Diplomatic efforts continue
Amid the mounting offensive, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denounced what he called “appalling brutality” against civilian neighborhoods in Homs, adding that it was a “grim harbinger of things to come.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is in Washington to discuss the widening conflict with top U.S. officials. Turkey is hoping to convene an international conference to discuss how to put an end to Syria's conflict and to provide aid to its victims.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to assign his deputy, Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, to hold a dialogue with the opposition, but those groups have rejected talks with the government.
The Associated Press reported a senior Arab League official as saying the Cairo-based organization will discuss Sunday whether to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of Syria and allow it to open offices in Arab capitals.
Diplomats expelled
Meanwhile, Germany said Thursday it is expelling four diplomats from the Syrian Embassy in Berlin after authorities arrested two men suspected of spying on Syrian opposition groups.
China, which joined Russia in vetoing a U.N. resolution on Syria, said Thursday it wants to maintain contact with Syrian activists after an opposition delegation visited Beijing last week. Moscow, a staunch ally of Damascus, has insisted any solution to end the bloodshed must come from within Syria.
Defector Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the loosely-knit Free Syrian Army that is fighting government forces, called the Syrian regime a tyranny and asked for help to defeat it.
Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, said the Syrian government is trying to retake Homs in hopes of crushing the popular revolt at a key hub.
"They have been bombarding the city for the past six days," he said. "The bombarding is so heavy that it is clear that it is setting the stage for a ground offensive. The regime has made up its mind on conquering Homs, because they feel that if they conquer Homs, much of the uprising in the country will abate.”
Wire services and VOA reporter JulieAnn McKellogg contributed to this report.
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