Syrian rebels finalized the withdrawal of Homs after surrendering

The rebels finalized the withdrawal of Homs, Syria ‘s third city, a symbol of resistance against the regime in Damascus. The agreement last Friday gave two-day ceasefire to treat the withdrawal of rebel militias to positions north of the city. A change of Homs leave without retaliation, the rebels agreed to release prisoners and hand over control of the entire old town. The governor of the province, the Barazi Talal announced on Monday that ” the implementation of the initiative will start in the next 48 hours as the situation develops.”

Speaking to Agence France Presse, The Barazi also predicted that “if things go well, the initiative will be completed quickly.” The agreement contemplates leaving Homs some 2,250 people between rebels, civilians and wounded militants. The Assad regime is said to be willing to allow buses depart

As reported on Monday, the Arabic daily Asharq Al Awsat, negotiation between the regime and the rebels in Homs includes the release of dozens of prisoners by the various opposition groups. Thus dozens of members of the Shiite militia Hezbollah will be freed , which supports Assad. Various sources speak of tens of Iranian and Lebanese citizens and a Russian military adviser retained by the Syrian Islamic Front Islamist since last April 10. In all, about seventy people. The Syrian opposition National Coalition says in a statement released early Monday that ” the deal shows that the Assad regime is a puppet controlled by Iran.” Iran, Russia and Hezbollah Lebanese Shiites support Assad in the civil war.

Homs has been one of the symbols of the revolt against Assad opposition and resistance to the ferocity of the army that nearly two years ago. The military government punished the rebellious city almost from the beginning of the war in 2011. First crush with heavy artillery. Then there sent his most loyal troops and cut food supplies. The constant pressure seems to be about to crush the rebels at the cost of civilian carnage. The agreement between the parties also includes the opening of some roads to alleviate the supply situation in other rebel areas like the northern city of Aleppo.

There are continuing fighting between soldiers and opponents of the regime. Last week, insurgents attacked government positions in different parts of the country with mortars and bombs. Only in Homs more than 50 people were killed in a double bombing on Tuesday.

The final fall of Homs would be a boost for the regime, in a display of military confidence has called a presidential election for June 3. Nobody doubts that Assad will be proclaimed winner though, unlike the previous elections in 2000 and 2007, this time lodged other candidates besides the hereditary president. Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, the first father and son now have won all elections held in Syria since 1971, always with results close to 100 %. Hard to imagine how a fair election could be developed in the midst of a devastating civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people homeless and left between six and nine million Syrians.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on May 7 2014. Filed under Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.