Rebels begin evacuating Syrian city of Homs

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By BASSEM MROUE

BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of Syrian rebels on Wednesday began evacuating their last bastions in the central city of Homs under a ceasefire deal struck last week with government forces, opposition activists and the city's governor said.

The exit of some 1,200 fighters from rebel strongholds in Homs will mark a de-facto end of the rebellion in the battered city, which was one of the first places to rise up against President Bashar Assad's rule, earning its nickname as "the capital of the revolution."

Around mid-morning Wednesday, dozens of fighters boarded five buses that arrived at the police command on the edge of the rebel-held areas ahead of the evacuation, opposition activists said. Afterward, two of the buses left the city, heading north.

An activist who goes by the name of Abu Yassin al-Homsi said all fighters and any remaining civilians were expected to leave the city during the day, adding that they would be taken a few kilometers (miles) north to the rebel held towns of Talbiseh and al-Dar al-Kabira on the northern edge of Homs province — a short drive away.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140507/syria-db7bd18a57.html

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FILE - This file photo released on Thursday Nov. 29, 2012 by the anti-government activist group Homs City Union of The Syrian Revolution, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian citizens walking in a destroyed street that was attacked by Syrian forces warplanes, at Abu al-Hol street in Homs province, Syria. Syria's government and rebels agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, May 2, 2014 in the battleground city of Homs to allow hundreds of fighters holed up in its old quarters to evacuate, a deal that will bring the country's third-largest city under control of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Homs City Union of The Syrian Revolution, File)

[quadrature]

1. the rebels forgot about...

supplying food to their constituents

[SallyAnn]

2. Who is winning?

Last report I saw, it showed the rebels losing ground all over. Not saying it's true, as it's hard to find any real news from Syria. It's funny, some consider the rebels "freedom fighters" and others consider them as "terrorists". Everyone to their own, I guess.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. The Syrian revolution is over except for cleaning up the mess.

Homs was "the capital of the revolution." It is also a key strategic city. Now, the regime has solid control of that crucial arc running from Damascus to Homs and on to the Alawite heartlands north of Lebanon.

Any further military assistance to Syrian rebels accomplishes nothing but to bleed the country. The Obama administration needs to recognize this and end its policy of bleeding Syria.