Siege of Homs
The siege of Homs was a military confrontation between the Syrian military and the Syrian opposition in the city of Homs, a major rebel stronghold during the Syrian Civil War. The siege lasted three years from May 2011 to May 2014, and ultimately resulted in an opposition withdrawal from the city.[5]
Nationwide anti-government protests began in March 2011, and clashes between security forces and protestors in Homs intensified in April.[27] In early May 2011, the Syrian military conducted a crackdown against anti-government protesters in Homs, some of whom were armed and fired on security forces.[28] Though government forces had succeeded in temporarily quelling the March–April Daraa protests during a similar military operation, their early May operation in Homs failed in quickly subduing the civil resistance.[27] By September, sectarian clashes and bloodshed in Homs between Alawites and Sunnis played a larger role in the Homs unrest than in the rest of Syria.[29]
In late October 2011, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigade consisting of many defected army officers repeatedly ambushed government security forces around the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs[30] and, through early November, successfully defended it from government counterattacks.[31] In late December, an Arab mission was sent to monitor the situation following an Arab League plan to dissuade the government crackdown.[32] Following the abortive mission, the Syrian Army in February 2012 launched an offensive against Baba Amr, shelling the entire district and blocking all supply routes. In early March, government forces launched a ground assault into Baba Amr, forcing the rebels to withdraw from the neighborhood.[33]
By early May 2012, following a United Nations-brokered ceasefire, only sporadic street fighting and shelling occurred. During this time, the government was in control of most of the city while the opposition held between 15% and 20% of it; fighting for control of a similar-sized area was still ongoing.[34] In December 2012, the Syrian Army captured the district of Deir Baalba, leaving only the Old City, Khalidiya district, and a few other areas under rebel control.[35]
In early March 2013, government forces launched an assault into several opposition-controlled neighborhoods, but the rebels–reinforced by units that arrived from the nearby rebel-controlled town of al-Qusayr–repelled the attacks.[35] In mid-March, rebels attempted to retake Baba Amr but were forced to pull back later in the month.[36]
In late March and early April, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia fully intervened in the siege, reinforcing Syrian government forces.[35] In late July, government forces captured the Khalidiya district.[37]
In early May 2014, following an agreement reached between the government and the opposition, rebel forces were allowed to evacuate the city, leaving Homs under full government control.[5]
Background[edit]
On 15 March 2011, a protest movement against the Syrian government, particularly its corruption and repression, began to escalate as simultaneous demonstrations took place in major cities across Syria.[38] The protests spread to Homs on 18 March after online calls for a "Friday of Dignity" (Arabic: جمعة الكرامة) in which thousands of demonstrators took to the streets after Friday prayers. Police conducted many arrests and assaulted protesters while attempting to disperse the crowds.[39] As protests continued into April, security forces began firing on demonstrators, resulting in dozens of deaths. Homs, once one of the most restive cities in Syria, became what some activists labeled the "Capital of the Revolution".[40]
Tactical considerations[edit]
During the siege, some analysts noted a shift in tactics informing the Syrian Army's subsequent general approach to war: while the army had been on the front lines during the early stages of the conflict, after the 2012 Baba Amr offensive–when it experienced heavy casualties–the new approach (tested during the Khalidiya offensive, 2013) consists of putting frontline militias in charge of dislodging the rebel forces, with the army supporting from behind with their superior armaments and air power, then asserting control once the fighting is over.[376]
United Nations
The U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says he has received "grisly reports" that Syrian government forces are arbitrarily executing, imprisoning and torturing people in Homs after opposition fighters in Bab Amr retreated.
Assad's government had "broken all the limits of barbarism". French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said. "And when I see the Syrian president paraded around this voting station in Damascus for this phony referendum, it makes you deeply indignant," he told RTL radio. Juppe said he felt "immensely frustrated" at difficulties in obtaining security guarantees to enable wounded civilians and Western journalists to be evacuated from Homs.[378]
In April 2012, French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of seeking to "wipe Homs from the map", comparing his campaign to the Libyan government's attacks on the city of Benghazi. "Bashar al-Assad is lying in a shameful way, he wants to wipe Homs from the map like (former Libyan leader Muammar) Gaddafi wanted to wipe Benghazi from the map," Sarkozy said.[379]