Siege of Homs

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12757394|title=BBC News – Middle East unrest: Syria arrests Damascus protesters|work=BBC Online|access-date=19 April 2011|date=16 March 2011}} The protests spread to Homs on 18 March after online calls for a "Friday of Dignity" ({{langx|ar|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.{{cite news|title=In Syria, Crackdown After Protests|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19syria.html?_r=0|access-date=17 December 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 March 2011}} 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".{{cite news|title=Security Forces Fire on Protesters in Restive Syrian City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/world/middleeast/19syria.html|access-date=17 December 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 April 2012|first1=Liam|last1=Stack|first2=Katherine|last2=Zoepf}}

{{see also|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (May–August 2011)#5 May – Siege of Homs}}

On 6 May 2011, following a successful operation against protestors in Daraa, the Syrian military confronted and clashed with protesters, after Friday prayers,{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}} in Homs. According to the opposition, 15 protesters were killed during the clashes, while the government stated that 11 soldiers and policemen were killed, including five at one checkpoint, after they were attacked by unknown gunmen.{{cite web |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/8/worldupdates/2011-05-07T210220Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-568453-2&sec=Worldupdates |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111230515/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/8/worldupdates/2011-05-07T210220Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-568453-2&sec=Worldupdates |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2013 |title=Syria army attacks Banias, raising sectarian tension |publisher=Thestar.com.my |access-date=6 February 2012}} {{dead link|date=December 2015}} On the night of 7 May, the military cut electricity to Homs. The next day, 8 May, Army units–assisted by tanks–entered several of the city's districts, including Baba Amr and Bab Sebaa, as soldiers conducted a manhunt for all known opposition activists and supporters.{{cite web|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/regime-hunts-down-syria-opposition/story-e6frea9l-1226052223586?from=public_rss |title=Regime hunts down Syria opposition |publisher=Adelaidenow.com.au |date=9 May 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}} That day, unidentified gunmen attacked a bus entering the city that was carrying workers who were returning from work in Lebanon, killing ten people and wounding three.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/09/syria.unrest/index.html?section=cnn_latest |title=Syrian forces use soccer stadiums as prisons, human rights groups say |publisher=CNN |date=9 May 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

By 10 May, the military had reportedly established total control over Homs. However, the next morning, tank and machine gun fire was heard in the Baba Amr district and in some nearby villages. Five to nine people were reported to have been killed in the clashes.{{cite news|author=Jim Muir |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13358201 |title=Syria tanks 'shell' protest city of Homs |publisher=BBC |date=11 May 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite news|last=Yacoub |first=Khaled |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSLDE73N02P20110512 |title=Assad broadens Syria crackdown, tanks push south |work=Reuters |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=12 May 2011}}

On 11 May, Bedouin villages in the Homs area were also reportedly targeted by the military operation.{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0512/1224296752475.html |title=Syrian tanks shell central city, Bedouin villages |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=12 May 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 |first=Michael |last=Jansen |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024150330/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0512/1224296752475.html |url-status=dead }}

On 12 May, it was reported that security forces arrested a veteran human rights campaigner, Naji Tayara.

On 20 May, anti-Assad demonstrations in Homs were reportedly met with machine gun fire from security forces,{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}} leaving 11 people dead.{{cite news|work=Independent Newspapers Online |url=http://www.thestar.co.za/syrian-forces-kill-30-protests-lawyer-1.1071967 |title=Syrian forces kill 30 protests: lawyer |publisher=Thestar.co.za |date=5 May 2010 |access-date=6 February 2012}} {{dead link|date=December 2015}} One week later, on 27 May, another anti-government protest was suppressed by the military in clashes that left three people dead.{{cite news|last=Yacoub |first=Khaled |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSLDE73N02P20110527 |title=Eight killed in Syria protests, world pressure grows |work=Reuters |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=27 May 2011}} On 30 May, seven protestors and one member of the security forces were killed in clashes in the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-29/police-storm-yemen-protest-syrian-army-fires-on-demonstrators.html |title=Police Storm Yemen Protest; Syrian Army Fires on Demonstrators |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |date=29 May 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916235653/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-29/police-storm-yemen-protest-syrian-army-fires-on-demonstrators.html |archive-date=16 September 2011 }}

On 17 July, army tanks and troops deployed and took up positions in Dawar Al Khalidya in Homs and killed at least 30 people.{{cite web |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/17/158049.html |title=Syrian army kills 30 in Homs, deploys tanks in southern town |author=Mustapha Ajbaili |date=17 July 2011 |work=Al Arabiya News |access-date=26 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127020657/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/17/158049.html |archive-date=27 November 2015 |url-status=dead}} The operation was apparently prompted after three government supporters were kidnapped a week prior and killed, with their dismembered bodies being returned to their relatives on 17 July.{{cite news| url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0717/syria.html | work=RTÉ News | title=30 killed in Homs, Syria | date=17 July 2011}}

By September 2011, sectarian bloodshed, such as assassinations of academics without clear ties to protestors nor to the central government, played a larger role in Homs than in the rest of Syria.{{cite journal | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Struggle_For_Syria.pdf|access-date=20 September 2013| title=The Struggle for Syria in 2011 | author=Holliday, Joseph | journal=Institute for the Study of War |date=December 2011}} (page 17)

Throughout September and October there were reported clashes in the northern section of the city, especially the neighborhood of Dayr Baalba. There was also occasional violence in Bab al-Sebaa, Baba Amr and other places. In late September, fighting in the nearby town of Rastan forced several rebel groups to flee to Homs. In late October, one of the rebel groups, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which consisted of many defected Syrian army officers, repeatedly ambushed government security forces around Baba Amr{{cite journal | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Syrias_Armed_Opposition.pdf | access-date=9 January 2016 | title=Syria's Armed Opposition | author=Holliday, Joseph | journal=Institute for the Study of War | date=March 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512145439/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Syrias_Armed_Opposition.pdf | archive-date=12 May 2012}} (page 13) and, through early November, became its garrison force.{{cite journal |url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Syrias_Armed_Opposition.pdf |access-date=9 January 2016 |title=Syria's Armed Opposition |author=Holliday, Joseph |journal=Institute for the Study of War |date=March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512145439/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Syrias_Armed_Opposition.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2012}} (pages 17+19)

On the night of 28 October, fierce clashes involving the Free Syrian Army and government forces broke out in Bab al-Sebaa district. The next day, these clashes spread to Baba Amr and al-Qusur.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/10/2011102910583554132.html |title=Syrian army operations continue in Homs |publisher=Aljazeera |access-date=6 February 2012}} During the street fighting in Bab al-Sebaa, 17 soldiers were killed,{{cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/263790/syria-bloodletting-spurs-new-arab-warning |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730214432/http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/263790/syria-bloodletting-spurs-new-arab-warning |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 July 2012 |title=20 Syrian soldiers killed in 'clashes with deserters' |work=Bangkok Post |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=30 October 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 }} while 20 soldiers were killed and 53 wounded in Baba Amr.{{cite news|author=Jim Muir |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15508630 |title=Syria's Assad warns of 'earthquake' if West intervenes |publisher=BBC |date=30 October 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

In early November, government forces began a clearance operation in response to continued armed resistance in the Homs area by the Free Syrian Army.

On 3 November, tanks opened fire on the Baba Amr district, where soldiers were killed several days prior by rebels.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15571427|title=Syria unrest: activists say 20 killed in Homs|work=BBC News|date=3 November 2011|access-date=25 October 2014}} By the next day, more than 100 people, including civilians, were reportedly killed in the operations;{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15588250|title=Syria: Homs military attacks continue, say activists|work=BBC News|date=4 November 2011|access-date=25 October 2014}} several tanks were reportedly destroyed by the FSA during the clashes.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=492Bzz97DV0|title=Tanks come under attack in Homs|work=YouTube|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJ57US6x_c|title=Syria enters in civil war with combat between Syrian army soldiers defectors Al Jazeera Video|work=YouTube|date=11 November 2011 |access-date=25 October 2014}} On 8 November, it was reported that the Syrian Army took firm control of Baba Amr and that the armed defectors went into hiding.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/world/middleeast/syria-lays-siege-to-a-city-homs-that-puts-up-a-fight.html|title=Death Toll in Syria Mounts as Assault on Homs Continues |first=Nada |last=Bakri |author-link=Nada Bakri |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 November 2011 }}

On 24 November, a number of defecting soldiers were killed and four wounded during clashes on the western outskirts of Homs. Later, the military conducted raids against farms further to the west, killing another 15 people.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/20111124145558173470.html |title=Syria faces 'last chance' sanctions deadline |publisher=Aljazeera |access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-24/middleeast/world_meast_syria-unrest_1_local-coordination-committees-syrian-observatory-president-bashar?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST |title=Syria faces Friday deadline to avoid Arab League sanctions |publisher=CNN |date=24 November 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128051313/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-24/middleeast/world_meast_syria-unrest_1_local-coordination-committees-syrian-observatory-president-bashar?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST |archive-date=28 January 2012}}

On 25 November 2011, six elite pilots, one technical officer and three other personnel were killed in Homs in an ambush. The Syrian government vowed to "cut every evil hand" of the attackers as a result.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/25/syria-military-cut-evil-hand |location=London |work=The Guardian | title=Syrian military vows to 'cut every evil hand' of attackers | date=25 November 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16117757 |title=Six Elite Syrian Pilots 'Killed in Ambush' In Homs Province Military Says in TV Statement |publisher=News.sky.com |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230092923/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16117757 |archive-date=30 December 2011 }} The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attack on the air base staff.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/26/179354.html |title=More civilians killed by Syrian forces; U.N. voices alarm at torture of children|work=Al Arabiya|date=26 November 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

In early December, a Sky News correspondent, Stuart Ramsay, was able to smuggle himself and his crew into Homs with the help of the Free Syrian Army. The foreign news crew reported there was heavy fighting in the besieged city each day despite the heavy presence of Syrian army checkpoints and that, after the central square became too dangerous, the FSA had established their own checkpoints aimed at protecting civilians during demonstrations in suburbs and city alleys; video had surfaced that purportedly showed defectors and rebels in control of Baba Amr again, with a checkpoint at the entrance to check for "shabiha infiltrators", a reference to pro-government militiamen. According to Ramsay's account, Homs was by now undoubtedly a war zone which had already entered into a state of full-scale civil war.{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16124327 |title=Inside Syria: Daily Life Amid The Gunfire |publisher=News.sky.com |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107202535/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16124327 |archive-date=7 January 2012 }}

On 4 December, heavy fighting raged during which at least five FSA insurgents were killed and one wounded.{{cite news|last=Hamilton |first=Douglas |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-homs-idUSTRE7BA0JD20111211 |title=Bodies lie uncollected as Homs becomes war zone |work=Reuters |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=11 December 2011}} Around 5 December, 61 people were reported to be dead, 34 Sunnis and 27 Alawites. The British-based, pro-opposition conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said an activist on the ground reported seeing "the bodies of 34 civilians, in a square in the pro-regime neighbourhood of Al-Zahra, who had been abducted by the shabiha [pro-government militia] on Monday", according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The civilians, the group said, had been seized from several "anti-regime neighbourhoods" in Homs, probably meaning Baba Amr. The SOHR also reported the "shabiha" abducted a bus driver and his 13 passengers in Homs Governorate on the same day.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/homs-dec-5-2011-1927|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701183402/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/homs-dec-5-2011-1927|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2012|title=Mon, 5 Dec 2011, 16:27 GMT+3 – Homs|work=Al Jazeera|date=5 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.care2.com/causes/syrian-blogger-arrested.html |title=Syrian Blogger Arrested; 61 Bodies Found in Homs |publisher=Care2.com |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019090952/http://www.care2.com/causes/syrian-blogger-arrested.html |archive-date=19 October 2017 |url-status=dead }} Both government and opposition forces blamed each other for the civilian killings, but both sides stated that they themselves had enough motive for the killings of the Sunnis and the Alawites, showing the beginning of possible sectarian violence in the conflict.{{cite news|author=Anthony Shadid|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/06/MNN91M970M.DTL |title=Syrian sectarian violence in Homs kills dozens |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=7 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 8 December, a pipeline carrying oil from the east of the country to a refinery in Homs was blown up, an activist group said. The group said flames could be seen at the site of the explosion; online video footage of the purported blast site showed black clouds of smoke rising above a built-up area.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/08/181482.html |title=Oil pipeline destroyed in Syria; protesters launch civil disobedience campaign|work=Al Arabiya|date=8 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}} One Army tank was destroyed and seen burning on a city street.{{cite news|last=Weaver |first=Matthew |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2011/dec/09/syria-homs-massacre-warning-live-updates#block-5 |title=Syria: Homs massacre warning – Friday 9 December 2011 |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=9 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 9 December, fears of a massacre by government forces were building, due to a build up of troops, shabiha government militia, and checkpoints; "500" tanks were claimed to have been seen on the outskirts of the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/news/middle-east/454951-syria-opposition-warns-of-homs-massacre.html |title=Syria Opposition Warns of Homs Massacre |publisher=Onislam.net |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 18 December, six soldiers, including an officer, were killed in fierce clashes between regular army units and defectors near the provincial town of al-Qusayr that also left one civilian dead. According to the SOHR, "Three armoured vehicles were destroyed and those inside were wounded and killed".{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/syria-dec-18-2011-1009-0|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711225001/http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/syria-dec-18-2011-1009-0|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 July 2012|title=Syria – Dec 18, 2011 – 10:09 | Al Jazeera Blogs|work=Al Jazeera|date=18 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/syria-dec-18-2011-1510 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707094300/http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/syria-dec-18-2011-1510 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Syria – Dec 18, 2011 – 15:10 | Al Jazeera Blogs |work=Al Jazeera |date=18 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20111218-civilian-among-seven-dead-syria-violence |title='Civilian among seven dead' in Syria violence |publisher=France24.com |date=18 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}} {{dead link|date=June 2015}}

In mid-December, a Der Spiegel crew managed to smuggle themselves into Homs where they observed the FSA-controlled Baba Amr district, noting the rebel checkpoints erected at the edge of the district. According to a local FSA commander, shabiha and army snipers were positioned in approximately 200 places in Homs and were shooting on everything that moved in designated zones such as Cairo street, which runs through the center of the city. Reportedly, the FSA did not have the strength to repel a potential all-out Syrian Army assault on Baba Amr, instead planning to retreat and wait until the bulk of government forces withdrew from the district post-capture, as they did in October.{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,805519-2,00.html |title=Inside Syria's Death Zone Assad's Regime Hunts People in Homs |work=Der Spiegel |date=23 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 24 December, thousands of troops entered the city with around 4,000 surrounding the embattled Baba Amr district and digging trenches. The military subsequently assaulted five neighbourhoods and heavy shelling was reported deep into the night.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/24/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=Syria's Homs under a military siege, activists say |publisher=CNN |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=24 December 2011}} The military continued their shelling until 26 December,{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/26/184573.html|title=At least 20 killed in Homs ahead of Arab observers' visit to Syria flashpoints|work=Al Arabiya|date=26 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207083146/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/26/184573.html|archive-date=7 February 2012|url-status=dead}} killing 33–34 people on the third day of the bombardment.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122675532134954.html |title=Monitors land in Syria as violence continues |publisher=Aljazeera |access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/26/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=Arab League mission arrives amid violence in Syria |publisher=CNN |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=26 December 2011}}

By the end of 2011, the FSA's Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade continued to control the Baba Amr neighbourhood.

{{main|Arab League peace plans for Syria|Arab League monitors in Syria}}

In early December 2011, the Syrian government accepted an Arab League plan to send observers to monitor the situation on the ground along with agreeing to withdraw army equipment from cities.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syria-accepts-arab-league-plan-to-send-observers-into-country-1.399634 |title=Syria accepts Arab League plan to send observers into country |date=5 December 2011 |work=Haaretz |access-date=20 April 2012}} On 27 December, activists told Al Arabiya that at least 61 civilians had died in the shelling of Homs in recent days but reported a withdrawal of Syrian army tanks and a halt to ongoing military operations in the city. Basil al-Sayed, a citizen journalist who regularly filmed security forces cracking down on anti-government protesters in the Baba Amr neighbourhood, of which he was a resident, had died in a local hospital of gunshot wounds on the same day. He was reportedly shot by security forces. His footage appeared on the sites of loose-knit citizen news organisations. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/us-jan-4-2012-0851 |title=Syria Live Blog Wed, 4 Jan 2012, 05:51|work=Al Jazeera|date=4 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

Some 70,000 protesters gathered in central Homs during the official visit of the Arab League observer mission and were later dispersed by tear gas. The head of the Syrian National Council (SNC), Burhan Ghalioun, said that the Syrian government did not permit the Arab observers to tour the streets or to visit Baba Amr neighborhood.[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/27/184748.html 30,000 70,000 Syrians rally as Arab monitors visit Homs; tanks seen leaving flashpoint city] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227114014/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/27/184748.html |date=27 December 2011 }}

On 28 December, the head of the Arab League observers, Sudanese Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, said the situation was calm in Homs and that there were no clashes.{{cite news |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/head-of-syria-monitors-says-nothing-frightening-in-homs |title=Head of Syria monitors says "nothing frightening" in Homs – AlertNet |publisher=Trust.org |date=28 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416035611/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/head-of-syria-monitors-says-nothing-frightening-in-homs |archive-date=16 April 2013}} Dabi said that they saw some armored vehicles but no tanks and, overall, judged the situation as "reassuring so far".{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-dec-28-2011-0838 |title=Syria – Dec 28, 2011 – 08:38 | Al Jazeera Blogs |work=Al Jazeera |date=28 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131000655/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-dec-28-2011-0838 |url-status=dead }} Although, he added that "there were some places where the situation was not good," and called for further inquiry.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/28/184952.html|title=Head of Syrian monitors reports Homs is calm but calls for further inquiry|work=Al Arabiya|date=28 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204034209/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/28/184952.html|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=dead}} In contrast, one of the monitors speaking to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity said the situation in the city was "very dangerous" and that it is under constant shelling, and many videos posted online by activists seemed to show the orange-vested monitors come under fire. He said that some areas were under the control of the Free Syrian Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011122944024838879.html |title=Syrian activists criticise Arab monitors |publisher=Aljazeera |access-date=6 February 2012}}

Activists and human rights groups strongly criticized the head of the Arab League monitors and his remarks; Omar Idilbi of the Local Coordination Committees, described Lt. Gen. Mustafa al-Dabi as a "senior officer with an oppressive regime that is known to repress opposition", adding that there are fears he might not be neutral. Haytham Manna, a prominent Paris-based dissident, urged the Arab League to replace Dabi or reduce his authority. "We know his history and his shallow experience in the area," he said. Amnesty International also criticized General Dabi, saying that he led Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir's military intelligence service until August 1995, when he was appointed head of external security in Sudan. "During the early 1990s, the military intelligence in Sudan was responsible for the arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, and torture or other ill-treatment of numerous people in Sudan," it said in a statement. "The Arab League's decision to appoint as the head of the observer mission a Sudanese general on whose watch severe human rights violations were committed in Sudan risks undermining the League's efforts so far and seriously calls into question the mission's credibility," Amnesty said.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/30/185320.html|title=Syria's opposition calls for Arab League head monitor's removal|work=Al Arabiya|date=30 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202152002/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/30/185320.html|archive-date=2 February 2012|url-status=dead}} Abd-al-Karim al-Rayhawi, head of the Syrian League, told the BBC that Dabi "won't be neutral" and would sympathise with the Assad regime and "its henchmen who are committing crimes against humanity round the clock in Syria".{{cite web|url=http://m.ibtimes.com/head-arab-league-observers-general-mustafa-al-274154.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712213855/http://m.ibtimes.com/head-arab-league-observers-general-mustafa-al-274154.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 July 2012 |title=Syria: Head of Arab League Observers General Mustafa al-Dabi Accused of 'Human Rights Abuses' |publisher=M.ibtimes.com |date=29 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}} Dabi is wanted by the International Criminal Court as they have linked him to genocide against opposition in Darfur.{{cite web |url=http://www.macleans.ca/2011/12/29/syrian-forces-fire-on-protestors/ |title=Syrian forces fire on protestors |publisher=.macleans.ca |date=29 December 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012 }}

Human Rights Watch (HRW) later accused Syria's government of hiding prisoners held in its crackdown from Arab League observers visiting the country, saying Syrian authorities had transferred perhaps hundreds of detainees to off-limits military sites. Human Rights Watch interviewed a Syrian security officer in Homs who said that he received orders from his prison director to assist with irregular detainee transfers, adding that the orders came from the central government. "He estimated that on 21 and 22 December approximately 400 to 600 detainees were moved out of his detention facility to other places of detention," the unidentified official was quoted as saying. "Some detainees were moved in civilian jeeps and some in cargo trucks. My role was inside the prison, gathering the detainees and putting them in the cars. My orders from the prison director were to move the important detainees out," he said. He added they were being taken to a military missile factory in Zaidal, just outside Homs. HRW said his account was corroborated by other witnesses, including a detainee who said that among 150 people being held at one site were people who worked with journalists, defectors, and protesters. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said the security officer also told them that the Syrian government was issuing police identification cards to its military officials, which the rights watchdog said was in violation of the Arab League accord. "Dressing soldiers in police uniforms does not meet the Arab League call to withdraw the army," said Whitson. "The Arab League needs to cut through Syrian government deception by pushing for full access to anywhere Syria is holding detainees."{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-dec-28-2011-0849|title=Syria Live Blog Wed, 28 Dec 2011, 08:49|work=Al Jazeera|date=28 December 2011|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130222218/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-dec-28-2011-0849|url-status=dead}}

The exiled spokesman of the armed rebels regrouped under the Free Syrian Army. In early January 2012 the FSA called the Arab League mission a failure and stated that they did not want them to stay in Syria even though the Syrian Army withdrew its heavy weapons from the city.{{cite journal |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jan-05/158948-free-syrian-army-calls-for-pullout-of-arab-mission.ashx#axzz1ojezXuYr |title=Free Syrian Army calls for pullout of Arab mission |date=5 January 2012 |journal=The Daily Star |access-date=21 April 2012}}{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-arab-league-monitors-didnt-fail-in-syria/ |author=Elizabeth Palmer | work=CBS News | title=Why Arab League monitors didn't fail in Syria |date=21 April 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}} The League's mission was finally ended at the end of the month.

File:Homs (January 15 2012).svg

SANA state TV later claimed a colonel was captured by an "armed terrorist group" in the city on 11 January.

On 23 January, a military officer at the main city hospital told foreign journalists that rebels had taken control over two-thirds of the city with army casualties being at 4 to 5 dead and 10 to 50 wounded soldiers and security officials per day.{{cite news|last=Karouny |first=Mariam |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-city-idUSTRE80M2D620120123 |title=Gunfire, funerals and fear in Syria's protest centre |work=Reuters |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=23 January 2012}} The claim was corroborated by the opposition forces stating that they had indeed managed to wrestle control of over half the city and local residents also largely corroborated these reports.{{cite news|last=Malas |first=Nour |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204573704577186912878221938 |title=Battles Put Damascus on the Edge |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=28 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 24 January, the Local Coordination Committee reported that at least 18 people were killed when the army shelled two buildings in the Bab Tadmor district. A resident said "The buildings were six-story buildings. Many families remain missing. It is hard to confirm the exact number of those killed. A video posted on the internet shows two destroyed buildings, reduced to rubble said to have been the two attacked buildings."{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-24-2012-1626|title=Syria Live Blog Tue, 24 Jan 2012, 16:26 GMT+3|work=Al Jazeera|date=24 January 2012|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130123922/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-24-2012-1626|url-status=dead}}

On 27 January a brutal sectarian attack took place against Sunni Muslims in the city, killing at least 30 people. Government forces fired heavy mortar rounds on the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Homs, killing at least 16 people. Armed pro-Assad "shabiha" militiamen subsequently entered a building in the neighbourhood and massacred 14 members of a Sunni family. The Bahader family was found shot and hacked to death, including eight children under the age of 9. YouTube video footage captured by activists showed the family members' dead bodies, with wounds to the head and neck, including the children.

There was no comment from Syrian authorities, but a local doctor said "Alawites who had remained in Karm al-Zeitoun mysteriously left four days ago, and the rumor was that they did so on orders by the authorities. Today we know why. We also have seventy people wounded. Field hospitals themselves are coming under mortar fire."{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/27/190862.html |title=102 killed across Syria as bloody crackdown on opposition continues|work=Al Arabiya|date=27 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 11 January, a France 2 journalist, Gilles Jacquier, who covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Algeria among others, was among several people killed in Homs, becoming the first foreign journalist to have died in the civil war. A witness in Homs, who asked not to be named, said the casualties were caused by rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) fired during a pro-Assad rally, while a journalist who was with Jacquier told CNN's Nic Robertson that the attack was carried out by mortars.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/11/187760.html|title=French journalist killed, other reporters wounded in Homs rocket attack|work=Al Arabiya|date=11 January 2012|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717071503/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/11/187760.html|archive-date=17 July 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t1#/video/bestoftv/2012/01/11/bpr-robertson-journalist-killed-homs-syria.cnn |title=Nic Robertson interview after attack in Homs |publisher=CNN |date=16 July 2010 |access-date=6 February 2012}} The SOHR quoted local activists as saying the journalists had been near the Akrama neighbourhood at the time.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-11-2012-1539 |title=Syria Live Blog Wed, 11 Jan 2012, 15:39 GMT+3 |work=Al Jazeera |date=11 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131024653/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-11-2012-1539 |url-status=dead }} A BBC journalist told Le Figaro that Jacquier was killed when a rocket targeted a pro-Assad rally in an Alawite quarter of Homs, although another journalist said that Jacquier had been travelling in a vehicle with other journalists that had been hit by an RPG.{{cite news|last=Weaver |first=Matthew |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/jan/11/syria-400-dead-during-arab-league-mission-live-updates |title=Syria: Arab League mission in crisis – Wednesday 11 January |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=11 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, condemned the killing and called on Syrian authorities to shed "full light" on the circumstances of Jacquier's death.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/01/20121111976555870.html |title=French reporter killed in Syria violence |publisher=Aljazeera |access-date=6 February 2012}} The SNC denounced the "murder" of Jacquier, saying it was a "dangerous sign that the authorities have decided to physically liquidate journalists in an attempt to silence neutral and independent media." Anti-government activists in Homs also said the authorities had orchestrated the attack, and Wissam Tarif, an Arab campaigner with international activist non-governmental organization Avaaz, undermined the government's claims. "The journalists were attacked in a heavily militarized regime stronghold. It would be hugely difficult for any armed opposition to penetrate the area and launch such a deadly attack," he said. Tarif also said the incident was an "unacceptable breach of the Arab League protocol", to which Syria had committed itself and which required journalists to have freedom to report across Syria. "The regime has denied journalists free access to the country, forcing them to join press tours organized by the ministry of information and chaperoned closely by regime minders," he said.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/12/187953.html|title=Head of Arab mission to Syria denies disarray; activists carrying aid stopped at border|work=Al Arabiya|date=12 January 2012|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208072111/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/12/187953.html|archive-date=8 February 2012|url-status=dead}} Arab League mission reports, however, indicated that Jacquier was killed by mortar shells fired by opposition forces.[http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/Report_of_Arab_League_Observer_Mission.pdf League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria: Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria for the period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012]. Point 44, page 6.

On 22 January, two Swiss journalists blamed Syrian authorities for the death of Jacquier. Patrick Vallelian and Sid Ahmed Hammouche told the Associated Press that they believed the attack was part of an elaborate trap set up by Syrian authorities. The two Swiss reporters and Jacquier were part of a group of foreign journalists being escorted through Homs by Syrian soldiers and intelligence officials. Vallelian and Hammouche claimed the soldiers appeared to know in advance that the attack was going to happen.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-22-2012-1758|title=Syria Live Blog Sun, 22 Jan 2012, 14:58|work=Al Jazeera|date=22 January 2012|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130154600/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-jan-22-2012-1758|url-status=dead}}

File:Bab Dreeb Demonstration, Homs.jpg

In late January-early February, activists reported that the Syrian army killed eight civilians and that 15 government soldiers were killed by defectors;{{cite news|last=Gutterman |first=Steve |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120201 |title=Russia says will veto "unacceptable" Syria resolution |work=Reuters |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=1 February 2012}} the Syrian army also entered the al-Adawiya district, driving out the Free Syrian Army rebels.{{cite web |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/mobile/news/world-news/Council+urged+fast+Syria+Assad+forces+push+back/6081104/story.html |title=UN Council urged to act fast on Syria as Assad forces push back |publisher=Timescolonist.com |date=31 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}} {{dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} The Al-Watan newspaper reported that 37 rebel fighters were killed in the fighting.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C02%5Cstory_2-2-2012_pg7_10 |title=Deaths mount as Russia resists UN drive on Syria |publisher=Dailytimes.com.pk |date=2 February 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227225227/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C02%5Cstory_2-2-2012_pg7_10 |archive-date=27 December 2013}} Video footage was posted online reportedly showing a captured government BMP-1 being used by FSA forces; it bore two rebel flags and was seen firing with armed men in civilian clothes taking cover behind it.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-2-2012-0019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708220216/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-2-2012-0019|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 July 2012|title=AJE live blog|work=Al Jazeera|date=1 February 2012|access-date=6 February 2012}}

On 1 February 2012, the Free Syrian Army assaulted the government-controlled Bab Dreeb district, which was used as a staging area for Syrian army raids and for shelling other districts such as Karm al-Zeitoun. A France 24 journalist on the ground saw at least four FSA vehicles moving towards the front line. Video obtained by France 24 later showed the FSA overrunning the former military base in the district.{{cite web |url=http://observers.france24.com/content/20120201-free-syrian-army-fight-streets-urban-guerrila-warfare-bashar-al-assad-military-forces-snipers-homs-erbin |title=Free Syrian Army turns to urban guerilla tactics |publisher=Observers.france24.com |date=24 May 2004 |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-date=1 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601044559/http://observers.france24.com/content/20120201-free-syrian-army-fight-streets-urban-guerrila-warfare-bashar-al-assad-military-forces-snipers-homs-erbin |url-status=dead }} At least four Syrian soldiers were killed in the assault. The next day, it appeared that another military checkpoint fell to the FSA.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy7i8QlvhBU |title=Syrian rebels celebrate control of Homs checkpoint |work=Youtube |date=2 February 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012}}

{{Main|2012 Homs offensive}}

File:Siege of Homs (February).svg

Following the killing of ten Syrian Army soldiers at a checkpoint and the capture of 19 by FSA fighters on the night of 3 February and into the early hours of 4 February–on the 30th anniversary of the 1982 Hama massacre–government forces began an artillery bombardment of Homs, particularly the Khaldieh neighborhood, which opposition activists claimed led to over 200 deaths.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/02/201223231333768854.html |title='Hundreds of casualties in Syria's Homs' in army assault on Syria's Homs |publisher=Aljazeera |date=4 October 2011 |access-date=6 February 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria|title=Syria Live Blog|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=11 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311043736/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria|url-status=dead}} Activists posted many videos of burning buildings and dead bodies that they claimed occurred in Homs. Some footage showed buildings reduced to rubble from shelling.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0135|title=Live Blog|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=7 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707062550/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0135|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0328|title=Syria – Feb 4, 2012 – 03:28 | Al Jazeera Blogs|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206094612/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0328|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0037|title=Syria – Feb 4, 2012 – 00:37 | Al Jazeera Blogs|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=24 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724115438/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-4-2012-0037|url-status=dead}} According to SOHR, after more than two hours, Peter Beaumont and Syrian citizen journalist Omar Shakir tweeted that the Syrian Army had not entered the district.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/feb/29/syria-us-drafts-new-un-resolution-live#block-25|title=The Guardian Middle East Liveblog, 29 February 3.00pm|date=29 February 2012|access-date=1 March 2012|work=The Guardian|location=London|first1=Matthew|last1=Weaver|first2=Brian|last2=Whitaker}} The FSA vowed to fight back with intense operations against the governments' forces and claimed to have destroyed an air intelligence building in the city.{{cite web |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/04/192423.html |title=Obama asks Assad to 'step aside,' condemns mass murder in Homs |work=Al Arabiya |date=4 February 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205182524/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/04/192423.html |archive-date=5 February 2012}} In addition to the civilian deaths, 14 soldiers and five army defectors were also killed in the shelling and fighting, according to SOHR.

The Syrian National Council claimed 416 residents were killed in the massive shelling. They also cited residents as saying at least 36 houses were completely destroyed with families still inside.{{cite web |url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11449832-syrian-opposition-416-civilians-dead-in-assads-regime-assault |title=Syrian opposition: 416 civilians dead in Assad's regime assault |publisher=Allvoices.com |date=31 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511093617/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11449832-syrian-opposition-416-civilians-dead-in-assads-regime-assault |archive-date=11 May 2013}} An Al Arabiya correspondent in Homs said the district hospital was destroyed and claimed that at least 337 people had been killed and over 1,600 people were injured in the shelling. However, the SNC and Al Arabiya figures were not independently confirmed and several international media outlets, including Reuters,{{cite news|last=Charbonneau |first=Louis |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120204 |title=Russia, China veto U.N. draft backing Arab plan for Syria |date=4 February 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012 |work=Reuters}} France 24,{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20120204-syria-homs-shelling-assad-arab-spring-protests-khalidiya |title='More than 200' killed in Homs ahead of UN resolution vote |date=4 February 2012 |publisher=France24.com |access-date=6 February 2012}} BBC{{cite news|author=Paul Wood |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16883911 |title=Syria Assad: Army massacres 'scores' in city of Homs |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=4 February 2012}} and CNN{{cite news |url=http://us.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t1#/video/bestoftv/2012/02/04/ac-intv-syrian-activist-says-more-than-200-people-killed.cnn |title=Activists: More than 200 Syrians killed |publisher=CNN |access-date=6 February 2012 |archive-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514135533/http://us.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t1#/video/bestoftv/2012/02/04/ac-intv-syrian-activist-says-more-than-200-people-killed.cnn |url-status=dead }} still reported the death toll of around 200. The Local Coordination Committees also initially claimed that the death toll was more than 200 people, saying that they were working to confirm the number of deaths.{{cite web |url=http://www.lccsyria.org/6016 |title=Syria Under Fire 4-2-2012 | Local coordination committees of Syria |publisher=Local Coordination Committees |date=26 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430202300/http://www.lccsyria.org/6016 |archive-date=30 April 2012}} They later revised their figures with a confirmation of 55 deaths.{{cite web |url=http://www.lccsyria.org/6032 |title=85 Martyrs till now 4-2-2012 | Local coordination committees of Syria |publisher=Local Coordination Committees |date=26 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229013329/http://www.lccsyria.org/6032 |archive-date=29 February 2012}}{{cite news|author=Paul Wood |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-16890107 |title=Russia and China veto resolution on Syria at UN |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=4 February 2012}} On 5 February, the LCC stated that 181 people had been killed.{{cite web |url=http://www.lccsyria.org/6048 |title=206 Martyrs on Saturday 4-2-2012 |publisher=Local Coordination Committees |date=26 January 2012 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402193130/http://www.lccsyria.org/6048 |archive-date=2 April 2012}} At least 30 buildings, including a hospital, were destroyed or severely damaged in the shelling.{{cite news|author=Paul Wood |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16883911#TWEET72479 |title=BBC News – Syria Assad: Army massacres 'scores' in city of Homs |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 February 2012 |date=4 February 2012}}

On 6 February, there were reports of new shelling in the rebel-held Baba Amr district in which 12-50 people were killed, according to varying activists.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=361328 |title=At least 12 killed as Syrian forces bombard Homs, activists say |date=6 February 2012 |publisher=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221084450/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=361328 |archive-date=21 February 2012 |url-status=dead}} Some local residents said that 150 armored vehicles were on the outskirts of the district.{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16163813 |title=Syrian Army Pounds Homs in Deadly Offensive |date=6 February 2012 |publisher=Sky News |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208190812/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16163813 |archive-date=8 February 2012 }} On 8 February, activists reported an unverified death toll of 48 people killed. They also reported that tanks had entered the al-Inshaat neighborhood.{{cite news|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/attacks-syrias-homs-resume-russian-peace-foray-014920857.html? |title=Turks seek world action as Syria's Homs bleeds |author=Khaled Yacoub Oweis |date=9 February 2012 |publisher=Yahoo! News |agency=Reuters |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214050851/http://in.news.yahoo.com/attacks-syrias-homs-resume-russian-peace-foray-014920857.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 }} In the al-Bayadah quarter of the city, a car bomb killed several people, with civilians and security forces being among the casualties.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=362409 |title=Car bomb rips through Syria's Homs |date=8 February 2012 |work=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221084258/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=362409 |archive-date=21 February 2012 |url-status=dead}} On 9 February, activists said 93 people were killed in Homs by artillery shelling.{{cite web |url=http://www.lccsyria.org/6203 |title=More Martyrs 9-2-2012 |date=9 February 2012 |publisher=Local Coordination Committees |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430202223/http://www.lccsyria.org/6203 |archive-date=30 April 2012}} Another group of activists gave a lower death toll of 57 dead.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-9-2012-1909|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708161920/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-9-2012-1909|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 July 2012|title=Thu, 9 Feb 2012, 16:09 GMT+3 – Syria|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014}} On 10 February, an FSA spokesman reported that Ahmed Jumrek, an FSA colonel, died in the shelling along with four other rebel fighters.{{cite news| last=Weaver | first=Matthew | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/feb/10/syria-aleppo-bombs-homs-tanks-live#block-20 | title=Syria: bombs hit Aleppo as tanks pound Homs | work=The Guardian| date=10 February 2012 | access-date=14 July 2013 | location=London}} Activists stated that Syrian Army tanks stationed in Inshaat were firing on Baba Amr from a bridge. They also reported that soldiers were damaging stores and cars while conducting a house-to-house sweeping operation.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=363007 |title=Syrian tanks storm flashpoint Homs, activists say |date=10 February 2012 |publisher=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221084212/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=363007 |archive-date=21 February 2012 |url-status=dead}} On 11 February, activists reported that Army tanks began moving from the Inshaat quarter to the edge of the Baba Amr district.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-12-2012-0006 |title=Sat, 11 Feb 2012, 21:06 GMT+3 - Syria |date=11 February 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-date=14 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214145430/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-feb-12-2012-0006 |url-status=dead }}

It was reported on 12 February that an FSA fighter had told British journalist Paul Wood that they summarily executed 11 prisoners under the pretext that they were shabiha, following an ambush of armored vehicles in December 2011, during which eight other soldiers were killed. The fighter also showed video, which he claimed was from one of the alleged shabiha prisoners' cellphones, showing the beheading of captured rebels.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16984219 |title=Syria's slide towards civil war |date=12 February 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2012}} On 14 February, an FSA commander told reporters that his men had repelled a ground assault on Baba Amr, saying that four Army tanks had been destroyed when they tried to enter, although his claims could not be verified.

File:Artillery Firing Towards Homs Syria Feb 2012.jpg

On 22 February 2012, American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik were killed when a rocket hit their safe house. Another photographer, Paul Conroy, and French journalist Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro were also injured during the attack.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/world/middleeast/marie-colvin-and-remi-ochlik-journalists-killed-in-syria.html |title=2 Journalists Are Among Scores Dead in Syrian Shelling |newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 February 2012 |first1=Rod |last1=Nordland |first2=Alan |last2=Cowell}} The day before her death, Colvin had spoken to CNN and others of the "absolutely sickening" indiscriminate attacks on civilians by government forces.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/journalists-killed-in-syria-rocket-strike-were-targeted-7295063.html |title=Journalists killed in Syria rocket strike 'were targeted' |author=Kim Sengupta |date=23 February 2012 |work=The Independent |access-date=21 April 2012 |location=London}} It was speculated that the journalists were targeted. The editor of The Sunday Times also said he believed Colvin had been targeted. French president Nicolas Sarkozy described the killing as "assassination".{{cite web |url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2012/02/23/syrians-targeted-journalists |title=Syrians 'targeted journalists' |date=23 February 2012 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=21 April 2012}}

In mid-February, seven civilian activists were found executed by the Syrian government because they had been collaborating with the Avaaz activist NGO; the group had been delivering medical aid to Homs. Two others, including a foreigner, remained missing. The foreigner was a paramedic with the group when Avaaz did not reveal his name or nationality, but alerted the country's embassy. "They carried a respirator and medicines," an Avaaz activist said about the activists. After losing contact with them, a member of the network "found seven of them shot dead, with hands tied behind their backs ... just before the entrance to Baba Amr," the activist told AFP. "Those were civilian activists, unpaid volunteers," he said, accusing the "Shabiha armed forces" of killing the men whose ages ranged between 16 and 24.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Syria-activists-executed-foreigner-missing-NGO/Article1-816063.aspx|title=Syria activists 'executed', foreigner missing: NGO|author=Hindustan Times|work=hindustantimes.com/|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025174425/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Syria-activists-executed-foreigner-missing-NGO/Article1-816063.aspx|archive-date=25 October 2014}}

On 27 February, the SOHR reported that 68 corpses were found between the villages of Ram al-Enz and Ghajariyeh and were taken to the central hospital of Homs. The wounds showed that some of the dead were shot while others were killed by cutting weapons. The LCC reported that 64 dead bodies were found, all adult men. These two sources hypothesized that the victims were civilians who tried to flee the battle in Homs and were then killed by a pro-government militia.{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/2012/02/27/gIQANnebeR_story.html |title=Syrian Activists: 64 Bodies Found Near Homs in One of the Worst Mass Killings |author=Liz Sly |date=27 February 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=21 April 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/31486-125-civilians-killed-in-syria-including-68-in-homs-region-massacre |title=125 Civilians Killed in Syria, Including 68 in Homs Region 'Massacre' |date=27 February 2012 |publisher=Naharnet |access-date=21 April 2012}} However, other activists reported another version of the killings, saying that the victims were Alawites, from the same sect as the president. The bodies were recovered in pro-government areas.{{cite news |url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/syrian-activists-say-62-bodies-recovered-near-homs_674048.html |title=Syrian activists say 62 bodies recovered near Homs |author=Mariam Karouny and Mohammed Abbas |date=28 February 2012 |work=moneycontrol.com |agency=Reuters |publisher=CNBC |access-date=21 April 2012}}

The injured British photo-journalist, Paul Conroy, was successfully smuggled into Lebanon by the FSA's Farouq Brigades and volunteers who were local Baba Amr activists.{{cite book| page =313| work=Quercus |author=Paul Conroy | title=Under the Wire. Besieged and Critically Injured. My Escape from Syria | date=2013| id={{ASIN|1782065288|country=uk}} }} Avaaz claimed that this rescue attempt cost the lives of between 13 and 23 volunteers, out of the 35 that Avaaz sent, though this claim was later disputed by Paul Conroy in his 2013 book Under the Wire. Conroy states that Avaaz charged reporters Rémi Ochlik and Edith Bouvier $3000 to enter Baba Amr a week prior, using the same route and tunnel that he used to escape.{{cite book| page= 313| work=Quercus |author=Paul Conroy | title=Under the Wire. Besieged and Critically Injured. My Escape from Syria | date=2013| id={{ASIN|1782065288|country=uk}} }}{{cite web |url=http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46561058#46561058 |title=Shelling Rains on Homs |date=28 February 2012 |work=NBC Nightly News |access-date=21 April 2012}} {{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/28/journalists-syria-paul-conroy-homs | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Peter | last1=Beaumont | first2=Martin | last2=Chulov | title=Fears for journalists left in Syria as Paul Conroy is evacuated from Homs | date=28 February 2012}} Avaaz's Ricken Patel later put the volunteer death toll at 23 deaths out of 50 people.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/28/world/meast/syria-journalists/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 | work=CNN |author=Arwa Damon |access-date=21 April 2012 | title=Syrian ambush hits activist lifeline out of Homs | date=28 February 2012}}

On 28 February 2012, reinforcements from the 4th Armoured Division encircled Homs and managed to completely seal off the besieged city, notably by destroying a tunnel.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=370304 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904090827/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=370304 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2012 |title=Syria sends elite troops to Homs, activists say |date=28 February 2012 |work=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 }} On the morning of 29 February, amid heavy shelling,{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9113504/Syrian-troops-move-to-retake-Homs-district-Baba-Amr.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph |agency=Associated Press |title=Syrian troops move to retake Homs district Baba Amr | date=29 February 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}} an activist claimed that the Syrian Army had launched a ground assault with infantry on the embattled Baba Amr district.{{cite news| url=http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-idINDEE81Q0AS20120229 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205022/http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-idINDEE81Q0AS20120229 | url-status=dead | archive-date=2 February 2016 | work=Reuters | title=Pray for us' say Syria rebels as army closes in | date=29 February 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012 |author=Khaled Yacoub Oweis}} A Syrian official speaking on condition of anonymity appeared to confirm that security forces were advancing on Baba Amr to clear it of rebel fighters and suggested that the operation would be over in a matter of hours.{{cite web |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/306605/20120229/syria-news-assad-war-criminal-clinton-homs.htm |title=Syria Forces Threaten to 'Clean' Rebel City; Assad Branded War Criminal |author=Oliver Tree |date=29 February 2012 |work=International Business Times |access-date=21 April 2012}} However, as more reports emerged in the late afternoon, it seemed that a ground operation had not taken place after all, with The Guardian{{'s}} Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov, his colleague Peter Beaumont, and Syrian self-described citizen journalist Omar Shakir all tweeting that the Army had not entered the district. Meanwhile, it was reported that some FSA leaders had already escaped Baba Amr despite the FSA's Farouq Brigades stating they would fight to the last man.

File:Building burning in Homs city.jpg

On the morning of 1 March, the situation in Baba Amr was unclear due to a total information blackout; the Revolutionary Council of Homs said they had no news from the district. Avaaz reported that two opposition groups had said that the Syrian Army had not taken the quarter, while another group claimed the army had taken a portion of it.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html | work=CNN | title=2 French journalists safely out of Syria - CNN.com | date=1 March 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}}

Later in the day, a Syrian official said the Syrian Army had taken full control of Baba Amr. Rebel leaders reported that they pulled out of the district and that some fighters stayed behind to cover the retreat.{{cite web |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/01/197926.html |title=Syrian National Council forms military body; rebels pull out of Baba Amr |date=1 March 2012 |publisher=Al Arabiya News |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416051300/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/01/197926.html |archive-date=16 April 2012 |url-status=dead}} During their retreat, 17 rebels were captured by the military and executed where they were.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/syria/syrian-rebels-quit-besieged-homs-stronghold/20120301 |title=Syrian rebels quit besieged Homs stronghold |author=Mariam Karouny |date=1 March 2012 |work=Cyprus Mail |access-date=21 April 2012}} {{dead link|date=June 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4197352,00.html |title=8 Syrian soldiers, 7 deserters killed near Golan |date=1 March 2012 |work=Ynet news |access-date=21 April 2012|last1=Agencies |first1=News }} The United Nations Human Rights Council said it had received reports of executions in Homs{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17228912 |title=Red Cross convoy arrives in Homs bringing Baba Amr aid |date=2 March 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2012}} while Avaaz claimed the executed were civilians and that they were beheaded, but this was not confirmed by other sources.{{cite news |url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/michaelweiss/100140744/assads-security-forces-have-beheaded-17-civilians-in-baba-amr/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305053324/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/michaelweiss/100140744/assads-security-forces-have-beheaded-17-civilians-in-baba-amr/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2012 |title=Assad's security forces 'have beheaded 17 civilians in Baba Amr' |author=Michael Weiss |date=1 March 2012 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=21 April 2012 |location=London}} Aid groups said they had received the approval from the army to deliver the needed supplies and treatments to citizens{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/meast/syria-unrest/?hpt=hp_t2 |title=2 French journalists safely out of Syria |date=1 March 2012 |publisher=CNN |access-date=21 April 2012}} but were then prevented by soldiers, amid suspicions it was to cover up crimes they were in process of committing. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported it had been denied access to Baba Amr, calling it "unacceptable".BBC Five Live News, 2 March 2011{{Full citation needed|date=March 2012}} During the fall of the district, rebels smuggled French journalists Edith Bouvier and William Daniels–the last who remained in the city–into Lebanon in an operation that cost the lives of six FSA members.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/mar/02/syria-bashar-al-assad-homs#block-24#block-25 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Brian | last1=Whitaker | first2=Tom | last2=McCarthy | title=Syria: Red Cross barred from Baba Amr - Friday 2 March | date=2 March 2012}} An FSA commander later stated that out of 250 rebel fighters defending the district, 114 were killed in the fighting.{{cite web|url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/04/23/2022932/rare-inside-view-of-syrias-rebels.html|title=Rare inside view of Syria's rebels finds a force vowing to fight on|access-date=25 October 2014}} {{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} FSA commander Riad al-Asaad vowed to continue to fight until the fall of the regime and claimed that his fighters had to leave due to the poor conditions of the civilians.{{cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFL6E8C52E220120301?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205021/http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFL6E8C52E220120301?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 February 2016 |title=Syrian rebels flee shattered stronghold |date=1 March 2012 |work=Reuters |access-date=21 April 2012}}

The Syrian Army's capture of the Baba Amr stronghold provoked multiple reactions from analysts and officials. Taleb Ibrahim, an analyst close to the Syrian government, commented that it was the beginning of the end of Homs' armed opposition. Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst, observed that the Syrian Army used the capture of Baba Amr to send the message that it was still the dominant force on the battlefield, noting that the stronghold was a significant base for the organization and weapons supply hub for the rebels. British journalist Paul Conroy, who escaped the city a few days prior, described the situation as an "indiscriminate massacre" and "slaughter" and compared the siege to the Battle of Grozny.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/mar/02/syria-bashar-al-assad-homs#block-24#block-24 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Brian | last1=Whitaker | first2=Tom | last2=McCarthy | title=Syria: Red Cross barred from Baba Amr - Friday 2 March | date=2 March 2012}}

Fleeing residents spoke of the atrocities in the city. Refugees said that government loyalists had rounded up 36 men and boys in Baba Amr and killed them while other witnesses said that loyalists had been cutting the throats of prisoners. Meanwhile, soldiers from an elite army division were defecting because they had received orders to shoot everything, military and civilian alike, and one defector said he witnessed his commander executing an elderly man.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17255717#TWEET93365 |title=Fleeing Homs with tales of slaughter |date=5 March 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2012}} British journalist Paul Wood returned to Homs in the days following the fall Baba Amr, reporting that he encountered many groups of women and children, without men, who told stories of raids and of massacres and that residents were terrified of government reprisals. On 5 March, Channel 4 News showed film from the military hospital in Homs showing evidence of torture and abuse among injured civilians, including evidence of electrocutions, leg breaking, beatings with whips and electrical cables, being shackled to beds, penises tied to prevent urination, and gangrene left untreated by antibiotics.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/exclusive-syrian-doctors-torturing-patients |title=Exclusive: Syrian doctors 'torturing' patients |author=Jonathan Miller |date=5 March 2012 |publisher=Channel 4 |access-date=21 April 2012}} Baba Amr residents were angry about the FSA's decision to withdraw; one resident called the rebels cowards and argued that if they always planned to withdraw then they should have done so immediately and not after a month-long siege. The rebels had retreated to a village just outside of Homs.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17259471#Syria | work=BBC News |author=Paul Wood | title=Syria eyewitness: Homs refugees tell of 'slaughter' | date=5 March 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}}

The Al-Watan newspaper reported that bodies of foreigners were found, including the body of a European, who allegedly carried the passport of Spanish journalist Javier Espinosa; the Syrian government claimed he "was suspected of commanding a group of rebels". An FSA commander stated that five Libyans had been killed among the rebels during the city's siege.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=373068 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905132048/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=373068 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 September 2012 |title=Foreign jihadists fighting in Syria battlefields, analysts say |date=7 March 2012 |work=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=373189 |title=Syria paper: Bodies of foreigners found in Baba Amr |date=7 March 2012 |work=NOW Lebanon |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320022211/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=373189 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}

During a visit on 7 March, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Homs had been "completely devastated" in the fighting and said she still heard gunfire while there. Amos was also reportedly stopped from going into areas in Homs still held by the opposition even after Syria's foreign minister had told her she could go to any part of the country.{{cite news |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-7-2012-2227 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710224458/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-7-2012-2227 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2012 |title=Wed, 7 Mar 2012, 19:27 GMT+3 - Syria |agency=Reuters |date=7 March 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012 }}

{{Further|List of massacres in Syria#Syrian Civil War}}

On 9 March 2012, the Syrian Army–supported by 30 tanks–entered the quarter of Karm al-Zeitoun{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSBRE8280G820120309 |author=Dominic Evans | work=Reuters | title=Annan to meet Assad, seeking end to Syria violence | date=9 March 2012}} and reportedly massacred 21 women and 26 children in the district, some of whom had their throats slit, according to activists. The opposition claimed that the main perpetrators behind the killings were paramilitary shabiha militiamen.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/12/syria-16-killed-homs-reprisal-attacks |title=Syrian activists claim 16 people killed in Homs reprisal attacks |date=12 March 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=21 April 2012 |location=London}} Syrian opposition activist and citizen journalist Hadi al-Abdullah said some of the children "had been hit with blunt objects on their head, one little girl was mutilated and some women were raped before being killed"; the bodies of the victims were recorded on video. The Syrian government acknowledged that the massacre had taken place, but claimed that "armed gangs" in the district killed them. The Syrian National Council called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the massacre, which it said took place on 11 March.{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16186872 |title=Dozens of Bodies Found After Syria 'Massacre' |date=13 March 2012 |publisher=Sky News |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414152016/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16186872 |archive-date=14 April 2012 }}

On 13 March, opposition activists posted video online purporting to show the army shelling Karm al-Zeitoun.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-13-2012-0807 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707100710/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-13-2012-0807 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title= Tue, 13 Mar 2012, 08:07 GMT+3 - Syria |date=13 March 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012}}

File:Homs (March 15 2012).svg

On 20 March, a new round of shelling struck the opposition-held neighborhoods of al-Khalidiya, Qussor, and al-Bayadah in northern Homs and continued into the next day, reportedly killing 14 people.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/20123215921238440.html |title=Syrian forces assault opposition strongholds |date=22 March 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012}} The LCC stated that another 40 people were killed on the second day of the bombardment, including 25 in Khalidiya.{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/21/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=Syria hammers Homs; Security Council backs Annan mission |date=21 March 2012 |publisher=CNN |access-date=21 April 2012}} There were reports that the military also entered Khalidiya.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17466453 |title=US urges Syria to work with Annan peace plan|date=21 March 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2012}}

On 24 March, most rebel forces and a number of civilians retreated from the Bab al-Sbaa district under intense shelling as the military moved in.{{cite news |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syria-army-shell-rebel-strongholds-10-civilians-4-soldiers-dead-1.420470 |title=Syria army shell rebel strongholds; 10 civilians, 4 soldiers dead |date=24 March 2012 |work=Haaretz |access-date=21 April 2012}} However, activists reported the district was still under bombardment of heavy shelling as of 26 March,{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-26-2012-0736 |title=Mon, 26 Mar 2012, 07:36 GMT+3 - Syria |date=26 March 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330190246/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-26-2012-0736 |url-status=dead }} though the FSA presence in the district was small and inconsequential.{{cite web |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/syrian-tanks-enter-northern-town-homs-pounded-again_765862.html |title=Syrian tanks enter northern town, Homs pounded again |date=25 March 2012 |publisher=Zeenews.com |access-date=21 April 2012}} Another activist later confirmed the capture of the district.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/10/syria-middleeast?newsfeed=true |title=Syrian rebels run low on food and hope |author=Mona Mahmood and Peter Walker |date=10 April 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=21 April 2012 |location=London}}

On 2 April, about 40 FSA militants captured the Homs National Hospital in Juret al-Shayah district. They found 78 corpses "stacked in a hospital refrigerator".{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/02/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 | work=CNN | title=Syria promises to pull forces from population centers - CNN.com | date=2 April 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012}} In renewed fighting on 8 April, mortars were described as falling "like rain" on Khalidiya by an activist. A makeshift hospital was allegedly stacked with 40 bodies which the opposition were desperately trying to keep cool with fans. An activist said they may have to be buried "in public gardens" due to a lack of other feasible options.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17651616 |title=Fears grow for peace deal in Syria after new demands |date=8 February 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2012}}

{{Further|Kofi Annan Syrian peace plan}}

On the morning of 14 April, major shelling occurred in the districts of Juret al-Shayah and al-Qarabis, violating Kofi Annan's UN-led truce that was implemented the same day.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/201241464750115376.html |title=Syrian forces 'shell districts of Homs' |date=14 April 2012 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012}} On 15 April, the Syrian Army was reported to be shelling the neighborhood of al-Waer from the nearby military academy. SANA also reported that "terrorists" killed 12 civilians in the pro-Assad, predominantly Alawite neighborhood of al-Zahra in what appeared to be an FSA attack.{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/15/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |title=U.N. monitors arrive in Syria as killings continue |date=15 April 2012 |publisher=CNN |access-date=21 April 2012}} On 16 April, al-Khalidiya was heavily shelled from three sides while the Army stormed al-Bayada and took control of half of it. They also tried to storm Juret al-Shayah and al-Qarabis, but were repelled by the FSA.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/201241693050730153.html |title=Fighting in Syria as UN monitors go to work |date=16 April 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012}} Sky News correspondent Tim Marshall, reporting from within the Khalidiya district, claimed that despite recent Army advances, the FSA still controlled large areas of the city and that hundreds of civilians still lived in Khalidiya despite heavy government artillery shelling and sniper activity. The Homs National Hospital in Juret al-Shayah had also reportedly been badly damaged by shelling. According to Marshall, many streets had sheets of tarpaulin hung from one side to the other and concrete walls had been erected to prevent Army snipers from having a clear line of sight into Khalidiya; people had to sprint across smaller streets to avoid sniper fire. The FSA commander in Homs, Abdul Razzack Tlas, noted the sniper activity as a violation of the UN ceasefire, even though the UN said that neither side was completely abiding by the ceasefire rules.

On 20 April, a rebel leader stated that 2,000 Farouq Brigades fighters had been killed in Homs province since August 2011. By this point, there were talks among the rebels in Qusayr, where most of the surviving Baba Amr rebels fled, of Homs being abandoned entirely.{{cite web|url=http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/04/19/2783703/syrias-farouq-rebels-battle-to.html |title=Syria's Farouq rebels battle to hold onto Qusayr, last outpost near Lebanese border |author=David Enders |date=19 April 2012 |work=MyrtleBeachOnline |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205100256/http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/04/19/2783703/syrias-farouq-rebels-battle-to.html |archive-date=5 December 2012 }}

By late April, UN military observers noted a rare lull in the fighting in Homs{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17798526|title=UN observers visit Homs to monitor shaky Syria truce|work=BBC News|date=21 April 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} and by early May, military offensive operations in the city had ceased, although sporadic street fighting and shelling continued. The government controlled most of Homs, with the rebels holding onto 15 to 20 percent of the city, with a similar percentage of territory still being contested. In May, the Armenian Church reported that its church in the Hamida district of Homs had been seized by rebels, who then set up a hospital inside the church's Isahakyan school.{{cite web|url=http://armenpress.am/eng/news/691956/|title=Armenian School and Church in Homs were shelled by the rebels|date=2 September 2012|work=armenpress.am|access-date=25 October 2014}}PanARMENIAN.Net, "Catholicos Aram I condemns Armenian church attack in Homs" [http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/108944/]

On 24 May, a UN panel reported that both the Syrian military and opposition militants had committed a number of human rights violations during the siege thus far. The UN observed that "state security forces continued to use lethal force against anti-government demonstrations in Idlib, Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Damascus" and that "too often civilians bore the brunt of the violence" while the FSA was also responsible for the torture and execution of a number of captured soldiers. One defector belonging to the Farouq Brigades stated that they executed government soldiers, after they confessed under torture, to crimes against civilians. Among those killed were allegedly three Iranian snipers. In the Jabal Zawiya and Deir Sinbal areas of Syria, makeshift prisons were reportedly set up by the FSA for captured soldiers. The sources for the panel's report included eyewitness accounts from FSA fighters who were involved in the killings.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/SpecialSession/CISyria/PeriodicUpdateCISyria.pdf|title=Independent International Commission of Inquiry established pursuant to resolution A/HRC/S-17/1 and extended through resolution A/HRC/Res/19/22}}

On 25 May, a massacre occurred in the town of Taldou in the Houla region near Homs, in which 108 people were killed and 300 injured. The UN would later conclude that shabiha militiamen and Syrian soldiers were the perpetrators. On 26 May, British foreign secretary William Hague said Britain would co-ordinate a "strong response" to the Houla massacre{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/syria-houla-military-assault-children|title=The Observer, 27 May 2012|author=Martin Chulov|work=the Guardian|date=26 May 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} and a UN Security Council statement, approved also by Russia and China, condemned the killings, saying it was "the result of government artillery and tank shellings on a civilian neighbourhood." The government's alleged use of heavy weapons in civilian areas was condemned.

On 28 May, Bassel Shehadeh, a young Syrian filmmaker who had filmed Homs during the conflict and had appeared on a show discussing the army's siege of the city, was killed in Homs after being fired upon by pro-government forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/29/headlines#5293|title=Democracy Now! - Democracy Now! Headlines for May 29, 2012|work=Democracy Now!|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 30 May, opposition video allegedly showed that the military had recommenced shelling of the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/fears-grow-that-syrian-situation-can-only-get-worse/1146201.html|title=Fears Grow That Syrian Situation Can Only Get Worse|work=VOA|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201056/http://www.voanews.com/content/fears-grow-that-syrian-situation-can-only-get-worse/1146201.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}

On 6 June, a CNN report showed Cairo St. (Al-Qahira St.) being a frontline between the FSA who controlled the district of al-Kalidiya and the Syrian government who controlled the district of al-Bayada. Several of the FSA fighters were former civilians and some were army defectors. The video showed them coordinating via radio and had made holes connecting one building to the next so they would not have to use the open streets.{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/06/world/meast/syria-homs-sniper-alley/index.html?hpt=hp_c1|title=Syrian rebels face off with regime troops in 'sniper alley'|date=6 June 2012|work=CNN|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 8 June 2012, it was reported that shelling had picked up in the FSA-held al-Kalidiyah, at a rate of 10 shells per minute. Following the shelling, the Syrian Army made an attempt to storm the district.{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/08/smell-of-death-lingers-in-syrian-massacre-village-as-un-monitors-gain-entry/|title=Smell of death lingers in Syrian massacre village as UN monitors gain entry|author=Erika Solomon, Reuters|date=8 June 2012|work=National Post|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/Syrian-troops-shelling-rebel-area-7830928.html|title=Syrian troops shelling rebel area|work=The Independent|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 9 June, the Syrian Army stormed the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Ghouta and started conducting raids.{{cite web|url=http://www.times-standard.com/ci_20820019/intense-shelling-southern-syrian-city-kills-15|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204084246/http://www.times-standard.com/ci_20820019/intense-shelling-southern-syrian-city-kills-15|url-status=dead|title=Rebels battle in Assad stronghold of Damascus - Times-Standard Online|date=4 February 2013|archive-date=4 February 2013|website=archive.is}} Shelling was reported in several parts of the city during which 25 people died, including the mayor of the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Khalidiyah, which had been under heavy bombardment since the day before.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/09/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2|title=Russia: We won't back foreign force in Syria|date=9 June 2012|work=CNN|access-date=25 October 2014}} With the capture of al-Ghouta the Army had completely encircled the city's rebel-held areas and cut them off from the outside world.{{cite web|url=http://beta.syriadeeply.org/2013/06/year-trapped-siege-homs/#.Uc8cV2JHIpk|title=One Year Trapped and Under Siege in Homs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212173746/http://beta.syriadeeply.org/2013/06/year-trapped-siege-homs/#.Uc8cV2JHIpk|url-status=dead}}

Early on 10 June, rebels captured an Air Force missile base north of Homs, with the help of 22 soldiers from the unit stationed there. They looted a number of assault rifles and rocket-propelled-grenades and threatened to fire the missiles at the presidential palace in Damascus if president al-Assad did not surrender. However, soon after, government artillery hit the base and an Army counter-attack recaptured it. The rebels were not able to take with them the large and heavy SA-2 surface-to-air missiles, which were fixed to the launchers. A satellite imagery provider showed the al-Ghanto base in flames following the artillery strikes.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/11/220035.html|title=Syrian rebel army briefly seizes air missile base; government helicopters fire on towns|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025173254/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/11/220035.html|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}} Opposition activists also reported a more intensified campaign of bombardment of Homs.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/10/syria-bombard-opposition-strongholds-homs|title=Syrian forces bombard opposition strongholds in Homs|work=the Guardian|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 12 June, residents of the rebel-held neighborhood of al-Khalidiyah told Al Jazeera English that they had been trapped in their homes for three days with no electricity or water. Other neighborhoods were targeted by shelling as well.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/201261212572120933.html|title=Shelling in Homs as UN warns of escalation|access-date=25 October 2014}} In the district of Bab Amr, which had been retaken by the Army in early March, videos appeared showing two government tanks getting blown up at the Kafar Aya checkpoint, one of the largest in the district. Local FSA units reportedly had relaunched attacks in the neighbourhood to decrease the pressure on al-Khalidiyah and other areas which were being shelled.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/al-jazeera-receives-footage-rebels-blowing-tanks-read-more|title=Al Jazeera receives footage of rebels blowing up tanks.|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=21 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221081026/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/al-jazeera-receives-footage-rebels-blowing-tanks-read-more|url-status=dead}}

On 15 June, more fighting erupted with the Army reportedly shelling, among other rebel-held districts, Baba Amr. The FSA Baba Amr brigade claimed to had taken control over a checkpoint leading to the city two days before.{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/15/world/meast/syria-unrest/?hpt=hp_t1|title=Opposition group: Monitors not reducing Syrian violence|date=15 June 2012|work=CNN|access-date=25 October 2014}} The FSA stated their forces made an attempt to reclaim the Baba Amr district and had got to the entrance of the neighbourhood, but were repelled by Army helicopters.[https://montrealgazette.com/mobile/news/world-news/Syria+troops+rebels+battle+control+territory/6774902/story.html Syria troops, rebels battle for control of territory] {{dead link|date=June 2015}}

Then, on 17 June, after intense fighting with government troops at the edge of Baba Amr, opposition activists claimed that rebel fighters reclaimed a large part of the area. However, this was not independently confirmed.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/after-intense-fighting-regime-troops-edge-bab-amr-neighbourhood-activists-say-opposition|title=After intense fighting with regime troops at the edge of Bab Amr neighbourhood, activists say opposition fighters reclaimed a large part of the area|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=21 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221055735/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/after-intense-fighting-regime-troops-edge-bab-amr-neighbourhood-activists-say-opposition|url-status=dead}} The same day, an activist stated that the Army stepped up its offensive on the city, shelling neighbourhoods systematically. It was reported that the Shabiha took over all the city's hospitals, thus dozens of wounded were without treatment, and that the Army had cut each of Homs's districts from each other. An opposition campaigner claimed that "85% of Homs is now under shelling or bombardment with mortar rounds and heavy machine guns." The shelling was primarily hitting the remaining rebel-held areas in the neighborhoods of Old Homs, al-Khalidiya, Jourat al-Shayyah, Qarabis and al-Bayada.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBRE85G07D20120617|title=Shelling intensifies in Syria Homs, 11 dead: opposition|work=Reuters|date=17 June 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}}

The Syrian opposition said that, at that point, 30,000 soldiers and pro-government militiamen had amassed at the city. The SNC claimed there was a "looming massacre" approaching by claiming that the government was "getting ready to carry out a savage attack that might massacre the city's remaining residents."{{cite web|url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=409869|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130121728/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=409869|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 January 2013|title=Syrian opposition warns of looming Homs massacre|date=16 June 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 19 June, widespread clashes around Baba Amr were reportedly continuing and black smoke was seen rising from the area after an oil pipeline was said to have been destroyed in the fighting.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/pipeline-blast-and-clashes-reported-homs-bab-amr-morning|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221033748/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/pipeline-blast-and-clashes-reported-homs-bab-amr-morning|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 February 2013|title=Pipeline blast and clashes reported in Homs' Bab Amr this morning|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/19/221535.html|title=Free Syrian Army calls on Kurdish brothers to join fight as clashes erupt|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803163343/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/19/221535.html|archive-date=3 August 2012|url-status=dead}}

Around 20 June, rebels launched a full-out offensive on Baba Amr district after rebels reportedly drove hundreds of soldiers from a pair of bases in the district. As a response, the military started using helicopter gunships in the city for the first time while rebel fighters were still holding out against military assaults on districts in Old Homs.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120622101846/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/20/2860014/syrian-rebels-launch-offensive.html Syrian rebels launch offensive to retake key Homs neighborhood]

By this time, the city's remaining Christians were trapped by the fighting in the rebel-held districts of Hamidiyeh and Bustan Diwan. A fourth attempt at a negotiated ceasefire, to evacuate the trapped civilians, was underway. However, the chief negotiator felt hopeless. He said that in past attempts the Army had agreed to a two-hour truce to allow the mediators to evacuate the besieged people but they were blocked by the rebels. This was confirmed by at least on Homs resident, who stated that he feared the rebels wanted to keep the Christians trapped in the city as a bargaining chip while the Army's bombardment and ground attacks on Homs intensified. Those who managed to sneak out settled in an area outside the city, dubbed as Valley of the Christians.[http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/22/3671234/christians-vulnerable-in-syria.html Christians vulnerable in Syria] {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

On 28 June, SANA claimed a number of violent incidents around Homs. In one, a group of rebels reportedly opened fire and killed a professor of al-Baath University in Homs. She was killed along with her mother, father and three of her sister's children. Soon after, security forces clashed with the group killing 10 rebels and wounding 20. Two of the dead were reportedly Arabs of foreign nationalities. At the same time, a security forces raid in the Taldaw suburb killed one rebel and seized a weapons cache. Also, the leader of a rebel group, Khaled al-Hamad, known as Abu Sakar, was killed during security operations along with a number of his fighters.{{cite web|url=http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/06/28/428233.htm|title=Terrorist Group Assassinates University Professor and a Number of Her Family Members in Homs Countryside|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031032240/http://sana.sy/eng/337/2012/06/28/428233.htm|archive-date=31 October 2012}}

On 29 June, according to SANA, another rebel group leader was killed during fighting in the Joret al-Shayyah quarter of Homs. Other rebels were killed when an explosive device exploded in their weapons cache.{{cite web|url=http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2012/06/30/428407.htm|title=Authorities Continue Crackdown on Terrorist Groups in Douma, Deir Ezzor, Hama, Homs and Lattakia|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023030927/http://sana.sy/eng/21/2012/06/30/428407.htm|archive-date=23 October 2013}}

On 2 July, the rebel-held districts of Joret al-Shayyah, al-Khalidiyah and Old City came under sustained Army shelling.{{cite web|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2012/07/02/syrian-army-pounds-homs-after-79-killed-nationwide|title=Syrian army pounds Homs after 79 killed nationwide|author=Sapa-AFP|work=Times LIVE|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 3 July, the military made an attempt to storm Joret al-Shayyah.[http://www.france24.com/en/20120703-syria-troops-pound-homs-watchdog Syria troops pound Homs: watchdog] {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

On 5 July, the 29th day of the new military offensive, heavy artillery shelling continued to strike the Joret al-Shayyah neighborhood. Fighting was also underway in the Al Sultania district and locals had abandoned the Baba Amr district which was reportedly completely destroyed.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/07/20127591523419371.html|title=Syrian activists claim 'rockets rain on Homs'|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 9 July, a new round of artillery fire hit Joret al-Shayyah, al-Khalidiyah and Old City and fighting was continuing in Al Sultania.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jul-09/179893-homs-districts-battered-14-killed-across-syria-activists.ashx#axzz20LUeZecm|title=Homs districts battered, 14 killed across Syria: activists|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|date=9 July 2012 |access-date=25 October 2014}} Seven soldiers were killed in the clashes.{{cite web|url=http://supportkurds.org/news/monday-9-july-2012/|title=Monday 9 July 2012|date=10 July 2012 |access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 11 July, Joret al-Shayyah was still being shelled and the district of Qarabees was also hit.{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/47475/World/Region/Clashes-in-Damascus,-at-least--dead-in-Syria-NGO-.aspx|title=Clashes in Damascus, at least 52 dead in Syria: NGO|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 21 July 2012, a riot began at the central prison's old building. Some guards defected and supported the rioters there. Security forces, however, surrounded the prison and clashed with prisoners leaving 3–4 people dead. Activists said between 5,000 and 6,000 prisoners were in Homs Central Prison and feared a massacre.{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/21072012-syria-mutiny-in-homs-prison-as-550-killed-within-48-hours/|title=Syria: Mutiny in Homs Prison As 550 Killed Within 48 Hours|date=21 July 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} Later, it was reported that the mutiny had been crushed.{{cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/22/worldupdates/2012-07-21T180744Z_1_BRE86K0FU_RTROPTT_0_UK-SYRIA-CRISIS-PRISON&sec=worldupdates|title=Two killed in Homs prison mutiny - Syrian activists|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723034701/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F7%2F22%2Fworldupdates%2F2012-07-21T180744Z_1_BRE86K0FU_RTROPTT_0_UK-SYRIA-CRISIS-PRISON&sec=worldupdates|archive-date=23 July 2012}}

On 29 July, SANA claimed that government troops killed 16 foreign rebel fighters and captured others in the city.[http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9104251905 Syrian Army Disbands Tens of Terrorist Cells in Damascus] [https://swap.stanford.edu/20120813042105/http%3A//english%2Efarsnews%2Ecom/newstext%2Ephp?nn%3D9104251905 Archived copy] at the Stanford Web Archive (13 August 2012). The government-run news agency further alleged that a rebel leader, Hamza al-Tesh, was killed in al-Khalidya the following day.{{cite web |url=http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/07/31/433946.htm |title=Infiltration Attempts from Lebanon and Jordan Foiled, Authorities Hunt Terrorists in Aleppo, Damascus Countryside, Homs, Deir Ezzor and Idleb- SANA, Syria |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121128221744/http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/07/31/433946.htm |archive-date=28 November 2012}}

On 4 August, state radio claimed that 40 rebel fighters were killed while others were wounded during a military operation in the al-Hamidieh district.{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/03/c_131759789.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806021358/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/03/c_131759789.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 August 2012|title=Syrian troops kill 40 insurgents in Homs amid violence elsewhere|access-date=25 October 2014}} The next day, SANA claimed that dozens of rebels were killed and wounded when their ammunition depot exploded in the Jouret Ashayah district.{{cite web|url=http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/08/05/434874.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121128200638/http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/08/05/434874.htm|url-status=dead|title=Armed Forces Continue Chasing Gulf and Turkish Militias in Neighborho…|date=28 November 2012|archive-date=28 November 2012|website=archive.is}}

On 7 August 16 civilians, mostly Alawites and Christians, were killed by rebel forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=425915&MID=149&PID=2|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130033103/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=425915&MID=149&PID=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 January 2013|title=Sixteen Syrians, mostly Alawite and Christian, die in attack, says NGO|date=7 August 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} The same day, SANA claimed that seven rebels were killed during clashes.[http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/08/07/434986.htm Authorities Storm Terrorist Hideout in Damascus, Pursue Mercinaries in Aleppo] {{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}

On 12 August, the military launched an incursion into the al-Shamas neighborhood and detained 350 people, mostly young men of military age. 10 of those detained were reportedly executed with the fate of the other 340 unknown.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/12/231794.html|title=Civilians executed in Homs round-up as army shells Aleppo: Syria opposition|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025173159/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/12/231794.html|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128128921123314.html|title=Syria steps up attacks on rebel-held areas|access-date=25 October 2014}} The opposition SNC claimed the executed men were civilians, while the activist group SOHR confirmed that people were detained but made no mention of executions.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=10256 |title=Syria army shells Damascus and suburbs: watchdog |access-date=25 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182405/http://timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=10256 |archive-date=3 March 2016 }} Three children on a minibus were killed as they tried to flee with their parents from the Shamas district during the military operation. After the operation, a Brigadier General defected, stating that the Shamas neighbourhood had no FSA elements and that the Shabiha were led by Iranian military advisors during the operation.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/13/231945.html|title=Iranian officers led Syrian regime militias in Homs: defected general|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025173106/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/13/231945.html|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}} The Syrian newspaper Watan, reported that 40 rebels were killed and 70 captured during operations in al-Shamas.{{cite web|url=http://mwcnews.net/news/middle-east/20813-massive-raid.html|title='Massive raid' reported in heart of Damascus|author=Agencies|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524085421/http://mwcnews.net/news/middle-east/20813-massive-raid.html|archive-date=24 May 2018|url-status=dead}} The same day, the Army launched an operation in al-Hamidyeh, killing tens of rebels in two hideouts and destroying an ammunition dump. The Army also arrested 26 people in Tabliseh, state media reported.{{cite web |url=http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/08/12/435965.htm |title=Authorities Clash with Terrorists in Aleppo, Kill Prominent Member of al-Nusra Front in Damascus- SANA, Syria |website=208.43.232.81 |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121129145908/http://208.43.232.81/eng/337/2012/08/12/435965.htm |archive-date=29 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}

On 13 August, a sergeant in the special forces who had defected claimed that Alawite officers ordered the rape of teenage girls in Homs, who would be shot afterwards. The defected sergeant further said that soldiers who refused were shot by the Army.{{cite web|url=https://womenundersiegesyria.crowdmap.com/reports/view/103|title=Former officer describes being ordered to rape in Homs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=18 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418125109/https://womenundersiegesyria.crowdmap.com/reports/view/103|url-status=dead}}

On 3 September, a colonel from the FSA announced the formation of a 'Revolutionary Military Council' in Homs, in a video uploaded to YouTube. In the video, Colonel Fatih Fahd Hasoon announced the formation of the council to unify all FSA brigades in the central Syrian province. He vowed the council would "free Syria from the brutal gangs of Assad's regime," and named himself as its leader.

On 5 September, Breaking News Network reported that 40 rebels where killed during clashes with the Syrian Army in Bab Hud neighborhood,{{cite web |url=http://www.breakingnews.sy/en/article/6361.html |title=Syrian Army annihilates 40 gunmen in Bab Hood of Homs |publisher=Breakingnews.sy |access-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202193948/http://www.breakingnews.sy/en/article/6361.html |archive-date=2 February 2014 |url-status=dead}} 32 more rebels were killed in a qualitative operation, Sham media reported.

On 5 October 2012, Homs experienced its worst bombardment in months when warplanes, tanks and artillery fired missiles and mortars at rebel controlled neighborhoods, including Old Homs, Khaldiya, Qusour and Jouret el-Shayah.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012105104032357762.html|title=Syrian forces pound Homs and Aleppo 5 October 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 8 October, government forces advanced into the rebel-held Khalidiya district amid heavy fighting and what was described as the most vicious attack by the Army yet. The advance was confirmed by the rebels who stated they were forced to retreat due to the artillery fire destroying several buildings that were being used by the opposition fighters as a barrier between them and the military.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-syria-crisis-homsbre8970oz-20121008,0,7302106.story Syrian forces advance into rebel-held part of Homs] {{dead link|date=March 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

By October 2012, Hezbollah openly operated in the area of the neighbouring city of al-Qusayr, in conjunction with Syrian military forces.

A military source said in October that the Army launched a broad offensive to take control of all remaining Homs quarters and the neighbouring city of Al Qusayr as well. The source expected the operation to take one week to be completed.{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444324 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012043750/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444324 |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2012 |title=Syrian army steps up Homs assault |access-date=25 October 2014}} However, Al Qusayr remained in the hands of rebels, who reported to have killed 60 Hezbollah fighters in the city. Another 16 were captured in the Sayida Zeinab and Qabboun districts of Damascus, according to senior FSA members.[http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31423 Syria: FSA kill 60 Hezbollah fighters, retake town Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014191128/http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31423 |date=14 October 2012 }}

A Homs resident living in a rebel-held neighbourhood said that the shelling was very heavy. He added that the Syrian army was currently controlling 75% of the city and that the rest could fall at any moment because of the strength of the Army attack.{{cite web|url=http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/10/8/syria-and-beyond-live-coverage-car-bomb-outside-damascus-pol.html#1435|title=EA WorldView - Home - Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Car Bomb Outside Damascus Police Station|access-date=25 June 2015}}

On 9 October, a resident living in rebel-controlled Hamidiya district described the Syrian army offensive as psychological warfare, saying that the Syrian army made little to no gains in Old Homs districts, being repeatedly repelled by rebel forces.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/oct/09/syria-bombs-hit-security-compound-live#block-5073ed8c58f91d7bbadac131|title=Syria crisis: bombs hit security complex - live updates|author=Matthew Weaver|work=the Guardian|date=9 October 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} This was in contrast with an opposition activist's confirmation that the army had "stormed part of Khaldiyeh"{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444647 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011204849/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444647 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2012 |title=Troops enter key rebel district of Homs, Syria TV says |access-date=25 October 2014}} and the reported rebel retreat the previous day within the district, which was confirmed by rebel fighters. Also, the Army reported continued advances in the area, where they were reportedly pursuing rebel remnants.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19880669|title=Syria rebels bomb Air Force Intelligence complex|work=BBC News|date=9 October 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 10 October, the pro-government "Al Watan" newspaper{{cite web|url=http://dawn.com/2012/09/30/syrian-activists-say-fighting-in-aleppo-kills-5/|title=Syrian activists say fighting in Aleppo kills 5|author=AP|date=30 September 2012|access-date=25 June 2015}} said that the Syrian army controlled all of Homs except for a few neighborhoods still being held by the rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in an email that the Syrian army renewed shelling of the Khalidiya, Jouret Shiyah and Old Homs neighborhoods. Opposition activist Abu Bilal al-Homsi said via "Skype" to "AFP", from Old Homs, "We are surrounded completely, we have no outlet." He also called on non-governmental organizations to send aid, pointing out that "the hospitals overwhelmed with the wounded who need surgery and should be evacuated."{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/Arabic/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=444946 |title=NOW أخبـار |publisher=Nowlebanon.com |access-date=13 May 2014}} {{dead link|date=August 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Activists rejected Government claims about districts in the city of Homs and an FSA colonel pointed out that the Government hadn't seized control of any districts but "they are advancing in some districts and retreating in others." he stressted that "al-Assad's forces are able to do nothing more than storm the entrance of a district and then immediately withdraw, despite the magnitude of the destruction they are causing."[http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31410 Al-Assad forces - FSA contest over control of Homs Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014011104/http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31410 |date=14 October 2012 }}

On 12 October, the Syrian military launched another series of intense aerial and artillery bombardments on Homs and its surrounding towns. Khalidiya was especially hit hard, a day after the Army suffered heavy losses in an attempt to capture the district. Opposition activists claimed 50 soldiers and militiamen were killed.{{cite news|title=War intensifies across Syria, refugee crisis deepens|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121012|access-date=12 October 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=12 October 2012}}

On 13 October, the military reported killing 25 rebels in the Bab al-Hood district.[http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107112474 Syrian Army Kills 400 Terrorists in Aleppo, Homs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013235829/http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107112474 |date=13 October 2012 }}

On 14 October, rebels were advancing towards the Southern Bab Amr district. An opposition spokesman said that "Everyday there are firefights between the regime and the FSA (Free Syria Army) in the Sultaniya neighborhood, The FSA has a lot of battalions in Homs. There are many dead from both the regime and the FSA." He added that "very few civilians remain in the neighborhoods around Homs."{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/13/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=imi_c1|title=Rebels claim downing of Syrian jet|date=13 October 2012|work=CNN|access-date=25 October 2014}} There was intense fighting in the Bab Hud and Bab al-Turkman districts with an unknown number of people on both sides being killed.{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/188919/reftab/36/t/Syria-army-rebels-in-fierce-battle-for-Homs/Default.aspx |title=Syria army, rebels in fierce battle for Homs |access-date=25 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222528/http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/188919/reftab/36/t/Syria-army-rebels-in-fierce-battle-for-Homs/Default.aspx |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}

By late October, a Syrian army officer in Homs estimated that 1,500-2,000 rebels were left inside the Old City district. At this time, government troops cleared the Bab al-Sebaa area by capturing a school that was being used as a rebel stronghold.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/world/middleeast/syrian-soldiers-fight-rebels-and-fatigue-in-homs.html|title=Syrian Soldiers Fight Rebels and Fatigue in Homs|first=Janine Di|last=Giovanni|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 October 2012}}

By mid-December 2012, the military had regained control of almost all of Homs, except the Old City and Khalidiya district, where rebels were still holding out under siege by the Army. The rebels continued to exchange sniper and mortar fire with government forces, but for the most part the city was calm and most of the city shops and markets were open and traffic was flowing freely. One bus driver stated "Homs is now safer than Damascus". One of a few areas where life still had not gone back to a full normal was the Armenian area, which reportedly was hit by several shells fired by the rebels from the Old City. On one occasion, a four-story building collapsed, killing five people and injuring 37 others. Fighter jets continued to bomb the rebel-held areas and Sky News described the scene in rebel-held areas and its frontlines as brutal low-tech guerrilla war.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/hei-fi/news/homs-is-calm-for-now-but-the-fear-remains-8405423.html|title=Homs is calm for now –but the fear remains|work=The Independent|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1023070/syria-homs-scarred-by-guerrilla-warfare|title=Syria: Homs Scarred By Guerrilla Warfare|work=Sky News|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 23 December, opposition activists claimed that the Syrian army launched bombs containing poisonous gas against rebel positions in the Bayada district, and that six or seven rebels were killed from it with up to 70 others hurt. Residents said that they did not know the nature of the gas.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/poisonous-gas-sprayed-homs-leaves-seven-people-dead-and-scores-affected-activists-say|title=Gas used in Homs leaves seven people dead and scores affected, activists say|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=24 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224012641/http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/poisonous-gas-sprayed-homs-leaves-seven-people-dead-and-scores-affected-activists-say|url-status=dead}} The claim of the nerve agent use was supported by Maj-Gen Abdoul-Aziz Jassius al-Shallal, the former chief of the Syrian military police, who had defected to the opposition.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/chemical-weapons-were-used-on-homs-syrian-military-police-defector-tells-of-nerve-gas-attack-8431380.html|title='Chemical weapons were used on Homs': Syria's military police defector tells of nerve gas attack|work=The Independent|access-date=25 October 2014}} A U.S. official told Danger Room that, based on the video of the victims, "It just doesn't jibe with chemical weapons".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/did-syria-just-use-nerve-gas/|title=U.S. Officials Doubt Syrian Rebels' Chemical Attack Claim|magazine=WIRED|access-date=25 October 2014}} The Israeli vice prime minister, Moshe Ya'alon, also voiced doubt at the rebel claims, citing the lack of corroboration to them.{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=297264|title=Ya'alon: We don't have proof Assad has used WMD|date=6 December 2012 |access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 24 December, the Syrian Army attacked the rebel-held district of Deir Baalba{{cite news |title=Large operation for Syrian Army in Deir Ba'alba |url=http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/9830.html?m=0 |publisher=Breakingnews |date=24 December 2012 |access-date=31 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514114850/http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/9830.html?m=0 |archive-date=14 May 2014 |url-status=dead}} and by 29 December, after several days of heavy fighting, the military had captured the district as rebel forces retreated from the area. The neighborhood had been under siege for months.{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4325794,00.html|title=Syrian army seizes Homs neighborhood|work=ynet|date=29 December 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.alternet.org/progressive-wire/assad-forces-take-district-syrias-homs|title=Assad forces 'take district of Syria's Homs'|work=Alternet|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524151912/https://www.alternet.org/progressive-wire/assad-forces-take-district-syrias-homs|archive-date=24 May 2018|url-status=dead}} With the loss of Deir Baalba, rebel forces were left only with Khalidiya and the Old City as the last remaining neighborhoods under their control.{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-homs-idUKBRE8BS07520121229|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205022/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-homs-idUKBRE8BS07520121229|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2016|title=Assad's forces seize Homs district from rebels|newspaper=Reuters|date=29 December 2012|access-date=25 October 2014}} The next day, the military launched barrages of rockets into the remaining rebel-held neighborhoods.{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/syrian-troops-hit-homs-kill-23-children/story-fn3dxix6-1226545462050|title=Syrian troops hit Homs, kill 23 children|work=TheAustralian |access-date=25 October 2014}}

Following the capture of the district, opposition activists made claims that up to 150–220 people were rounded up by the military, taken to a petrochemical university and executed, with their bodies being burned or taken away.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/single-bloodiest-day-in-syrian-war/2012/12/30/7c5f62cc-5282-11e2-8b9e-dd8773594efc_story.html|title=Syrian opposition: As many as 400 killed in deadliest single day in civil war|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 October 2014}} The opposition Shaam News Network reported that about 150 charred bodies were found in the Deir Baalba neighborhood.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/12/29/257683.html|title=Syrian death toll climbs to nearly 400 as violence flares|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025173100/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/12/29/257683.html|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}} However, there was no independent verification of the claims and one opposition activist was able to count only 27 bodies.{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/30/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|title=Stench of burnt bodies smothers Syrian city, residents say|date=30 December 2012|work=CNN|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 15 January 2013, government troops overran the village of Basatin al-Hasawiya on the edge of the city. Opposition activists claimed that during the operation pro-government militiamen and soldiers massacred 106 civilians, including women and children, by shooting, stabbing or possibly burning them to death.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE90G09R20130117|title=Massacre of over 100 reported in Syria's Homs|work=Reuters|date=17 January 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Holmes|first1=Oliver}}

On 20 January, following rebel attempts to advance into new areas of Homs from the countryside, the Army launched a retaliatory offensive, to halt the rebel infiltration. Over three days, between 20 and 22 January, heavy fighting erupted in the western areas of Homs, where 130 soldiers and pro-government militiamen were killed or wounded, with 23 of them being confirmed as dead.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCj8RbAPvUO5oNp12ONsA6XxEM_g?docId=CNG.6e9892706aee65982764a2ba30abfb97.281|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216052502/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCj8RbAPvUO5oNp12ONsA6XxEM_g?docId=CNG.6e9892706aee65982764a2ba30abfb97.281|url-status=dead|title=AFP: Fresh clashes in Syria's Homs, as Russians flee|date=16 February 2013|archive-date=16 February 2013|website=archive.is}} By 25 January 120 civilians and 30–40 rebels were also reported to had been killed. Opposition activists claimed 10,000 pro-government militiamen were brought in as reinforcements from Tartous for the offensive.{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-idINDEE90O09T20130125|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205023/http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-idINDEE90O09T20130125|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2016|title=Syrian troops and militia push to take Sunni Homs areas|newspaper=Reuters|date=25 January 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Oweis|first1=Khaled Yacoub}} The Army was focusing on securing a vital a road junction on the outskirts of the city, which is on a supply line to government forces further in the interior of the country. On 26 January, more than 20 additional rebels and civilians were killed in fighting in the Jobar-Kafraya farm area on the south-western edge of Homs. A doctor from a makeshift underground hospital reported that opposition forces and civilians were surrounded. Rebels from the nearby town of Qusair were attempting to relieve the pressure on opposition forces on the western edge of Homs and in a counter-offensive two days previously managed to push back government forces slightly. However, the military continued to pound the area with artillery and air-strikes and the armed opposition had been weakened in the city after a drop in ammunition supplies in the weeks before due to a tightening of the Army siege on western areas.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBRE90P0GT20130126|title=Syrian militias target civilians in Homs, opposition says|work=Reuters|date=26 January 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Oweis|first1=Khaled Yacoub}}

At the same time, BBC News reported that in the rest of the city, which is government-controlled, a 'fragile calm' had returned.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21201505|title='Fragile calm' returns to Homs after year of fighting|work=BBC News|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 14 February, the Syrian army captured the southwestern Jobar district, after rebels withdrew from the area. A week before, the military had also seized the southwestern Kafraya district.{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/71910-jihadists-seize-syria-town-on-iraq-border|title=Jihadists Seize Syria Town on Iraq Border|work=Naharnet|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 20 February, rebel activists distributed video of what they claimed was the destruction in the Al-Qarabis district after they reportedly stormed it and took control.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/rebels-gain-control-homs-neighbourhood-was-ravaged-fighting|title=Rebels gain control of a Homs neighbourhood that was ravaged by fighting|work=Al Jazeera Blogs|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025172913/http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/rebels-gain-control-homs-neighbourhood-was-ravaged-fighting|url-status=dead}}

On 3 March 2013, government troops launched a major offensive into rebel-held territory in Homs, where the rebels by now had been reinforced by rebel units arriving from nearby Al-Qusayr.

The neighborhoods attacked were the Old City, Jouret al-Shiah, Khaldiyeh, and Qarabees. It was reported to be the worst fighting in months as scores of dead on both sides were accounted for.{{cite news | url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201334151942410812.html | title=Syria rebels capture northern Raqqa city | publisher=Aljazeera.com | date=5 March 2013 | access-date=14 July 2013}}

By 6 March, government forces were bombarding the Old City and Khaldiyeh for four straight days.{{cite web|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/XQ3WDSAoRSitfoGX5OYFpM/Syria-military-pounds-Homs-for-fourth-day-watchdog.html|title=Syria military pounds Homs for fourth day: watchdog|work=livemint.com/|date=6 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}}

File:Homs (March 15 2013).svg

On 10 March, rebels infiltrated the Baba Amr area of Homs under the cover of night. The next morning, they launched an attack on government positions within the district. According to an opposition activist, Army checkpoints barely had time to realise that an attack was under way. Army troops sealed off several roads around Baba Amr and the Air force conducted air strikes on the district. The purpose of the rebel raid was reportedly to relieve pressure on the remaining rebel-held areas of the city that were still under siege by the military.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQvt9__0IFu0EMqBK1VQxKSf-m3A?docId=CNG.2f0283cf2a3e62330d534900dcb74d83.71|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411014302/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQvt9__0IFu0EMqBK1VQxKSf-m3A?docId=CNG.2f0283cf2a3e62330d534900dcb74d83.71|url-status=dead|title=AFP: Syria rebels launch surprise dawn assault in Homs|date=11 April 2013|archive-date=11 April 2013|website=archive.is}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Mar-10/209489-syria-rebels-launch-new-assault-on-key-homs-district-activists.ashx#axzz2N9z8BZiS|title=Syria rebels stage surprise assault in Homs|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=25 October 2014}} At the same time, fighting was still ongoing in the rebel areas of Old Homs and Khaldiyeh, where the military was pressing its offensive.

By 12 March, heavy fighting was still ongoing in both Khaldiyeh, where government tanks were in action, and Baba Amr, which was being hit by Army rocket fire.{{cite web|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/03/13/01/00/syria-rebels-army-locked-in-homs-combat|title=Syria rebels, army locked in Homs combat|work=news|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302090633/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/03/13/01/00/syria-rebels-army-locked-in-homs-combat|archive-date=2 March 2014}} It remained unclear how much of Baba Amr the rebels had captured or continued to hold after the latest fighting in the area.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/activists-fighting-intensifies-between-syrian-troops-rebels-for-aleppo-airport-army-bases/2013/03/12/9ca6ba3a-8afe-11e2-9b1a-deb258a24f2d_story.html Battle for Aleppo international airport in Syria’s north intensifies] {{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Civilians were forced to flee, as the army fired heavy machine guns into the district. The UN food agency said the renewed violence in Baba Amr has forced at least 3,000 families to leave their homes in the contested area.{{cite web|url=http://www.newser.com/article/da4vipho2/battle-for-aleppo-international-airport-in-syrias-north-intensifies.html |title=Newser - Headline News Summaries, World News, and Breaking News |access-date=13 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316061159/http://www.newser.com/article/da4vipho2/battle-for-aleppo-international-airport-in-syrias-north-intensifies.html |archive-date=16 March 2013}}

On 14 March, the Syrian army reportedly shelled the Bab Hud, al-Turkman, Bab Dreib, Bab Tadmur and al-Sefsafa neighborhoods.{{cite web|url=http://sherifazuhur.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/syria-update-march-14-2013-institute-of-middle-eastern-islamic-and-strategic-studies-by-sherifa-zuhur/|title=Syria Update, March 14, 2013 (Institute of Middle Eastern, Islamic, and Strategic Studies. By Sherifa Zuhur)|work=sherifazuhur|date=14 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} 20 rebels and 22 soldiers were killed in the fighting.{{cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/syria-civil-war-enters-its-3rd-year-1.1487235#.UUNJqxw3tCg|title=Syria civil war enters its 3rd year|author=Independent Newspapers Online|work=Independent Online|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 25 March, the opposition group SOHR reported that the military had taken control of large parts of the neighbourhood, with clashes continuing in the district's orchards. By the next day, 26 March, SOHR confirmed the military had recaptured the whole of Baba Amr.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBRE92P07U20130326|title=Syrian army recaptures symbolic Baba Amr district in Homs|work=Reuters|date=26 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} Meanwhile, fighting was reported in the Jobar section of the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2013/3/26/syria-live-coverage-will-the-arab-league-recognise-the-oppos.html|title=Syria Live Coverage: Will the Arab League Recognise the Opposition?|access-date=25 October 2014}}

End of March and early April 2013, government forces were only able to hold on to critical territory in Homs city due to the support of Hezbollah moving fully into the fighting.

On 2 May 2013, the Syrian army, backed by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters, pushed into and regained control of the strategic Wadi al-Sayeh neighborhood.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-05-02/syrian-troops-advance-in-central-city-of-homs |title=Syrian troops advance in central city of Homs |author=Ryan Lucas |work=Businessweek.com |access-date=25 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606140449/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-05-02/syrian-troops-advance-in-central-city-of-homs |archive-date=6 June 2013 }} The district is located in-between the rebel-held Old Homs and Khalidiya districts, thus with its capture government forces had cut the link between those two areas and they had become completely separated and surrounded.{{cite web|url=http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/tag/khalidiya/page/2/|title=Khalidiya - Yalla Souryia|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/812698/syrie-larmee-resserre-letau-autour-des-rebelles-a-homs.html|title=Syria army tightens the noose around the rebels in Homs|work=L'Orient-Le Jour|date=2 May 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE9410VP20130502|title=Assad forces on the offensive from Damascus to Mediterranean|work=Reuters|date=2 May 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Solomon|first1=Erika}}

On 28 June 2013, the Army captured the town of Al-Qariatayn near Homs.{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/06/27/NGO-Syrian-troops-storm-rebel-town-in-Homs-.html|title=NGO: Syrian troops storm rebel town in Homs|date=27 June 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 29 June, government troops launched an offensive on several rebel-held parts of Homs city, pounding the districts with air raids and mortar fire. "Military operations never stopped in Homs, but their pace increases according to priorities," an Army officer told AFP.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBRE95S03T20130629|title=Syrian army launches offensive in Homs city|work=Reuters|date=29 June 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} The military bombardment started at nine in the morning and lasted for three hours before the Army deployed ground troops.{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/syrian-army-launches-homs-offensive-20130630-2p5ae.html|title=Syrian army launches Homs offensive|work=The Age|date=30 June 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} Syrian state TV was quoted as saying the Army had "great success" in the battle for Homs, "killing many terrorists in the Khalidiya district". Fighting raged around the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Khalidiya, which had earlier caught fire.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23112222|title=Syria conflict: Assad forces strike Homs|work=BBC News|date=29 June 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} An activist in the Old City of Homs stated that the Army had "used rocket launchers for hours". He also commented that all water, phone and power had been cut off or blocked, save satellite communications. "The only thing they haven't blocked is the air we breathe" the activist reported.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/world/middleeast/syria-attacks-rebel-held-area-in-new-push-to-retake-city.html|title=Syria Attacks Rebel-Held Area in New Push to Retake City|first=Anne|last=Barnard|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 June 2013}}

On 30 June, the second day of the offensive, government forces were attacking the old covered market which is located in Old Homs. Fighting was also ongoing in the Bab Hud district of Old Homs.{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-homs-idUKBRE95S04020130630|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205022/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-homs-idUKBRE95S04020130630|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2016|title=Syrian army, backed by jets, launches assault on Homs|newspaper=Reuters|date=30 June 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Oweis|first1=Khaled Yacoub}}

On 3 July, an opposition activist stated that the fighting had become from building to building and the military was trying to take the rebel areas a block at a time. He said government forces were "cleaning" the areas of rebel fighters by firing mortar shells at buildings.{{cite web|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2021315910_apmlsyria.html|title=Syrian troops battle to retake rebel-held areas|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=25 October 2014}}

During the evening of 5 July, government forces managed for the first time to breach Khalidiya, capturing several buildings in the district after breaking the rebel's first line of defenses.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-troops-seize-buildings-in-rebel-held-parts-of-strategic-city-of-homs/2013/07/06/a68dcfc0-e60c-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707032037/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-troops-seize-buildings-in-rebel-held-parts-of-strategic-city-of-homs/2013/07/06/a68dcfc0-e60c-11e2-bffd-37a36ddab820_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2013|title=Former Syrian political prisoner with Saudi ties becomes head of main opposition group - The Washington Post|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 July 2013}}

During the first two days of the offensive, according to SOHR, 32 government soldiers and militiamen had been killed,{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130701/homs-rebels-resist-syria-army-onslaught-0|title=Homs rebels resist Syria army onslaught|work=GlobalPost|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203013022/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130701/homs-rebels-resist-syria-army-onslaught-0|url-status=dead}} of which 24 died on the first day.{{cite web|url=http://syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=6947&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.Uu5RPPldWfU|title=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان - المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|work=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|access-date=25 June 2015}} Another eight government fighters were killed on 4 July. The number of rebels killed was unknown, but eight were reported killed on 5 July.

On 6 July, it was reported that the battle was swinging in favor of the Army,{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE9650A620130706|title=Syrian opposition chooses Saudi-backed leader|publisher=Reuters|date=6 July 2013|access-date=6 July 2013}} as rebels were running low on weapons.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rebels-pound-besieged-shiite-towns-with-mortar-shells-heavy-weapons/2013/07/07/1ccd4542-e6fa-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130707155318/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rebels-pound-besieged-shiite-towns-with-mortar-shells-heavy-weapons/2013/07/07/1ccd4542-e6fa-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html|url-status=dead|title=Shells smash into Aleppo prison; rebels, regime battle in, near ancie…|date=7 July 2013|archive-date=7 July 2013|website=archive.is}} By this point, 60 to 70 percent of buildings in Khalidiya had been totally or partially destroyed or made uninhabitable.[http://www.france24.com/en/20130707-two-thirds-syrias-homs-rebel-area-destroyed Two thirds of Syria's Homs rebel area 'destroyed'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723093150/http://www.france24.com/en/20130707-two-thirds-syrias-homs-rebel-area-destroyed |date=23 July 2013 }}

On 8 July, government forces advanced into Khalidiya. According to the opposition, the Army captured 30 percent of the district, while military sources claimed that they had captured most of the neighborhood. Both sides confirmed government troops had captured areas around the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque.[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9faI6L1B3Fcv1644TnKcqmpCwxg?docId=CNG.101570eb57de9342d23d9328b8ed43a5.b1 Syria army 'advances in rebel-held district of Homs'] {{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In a desperate attempt, rebels threatened they would blow themselves up along with government forces if the Army managed to enter the mosque complex.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jul-08/222895-desperate-moves-by-rebels-as-homs-campaign-intensifies.ashx#axzz2YRAVkJKB|title=Desperate moves by rebels as Homs campaign intensifies|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|date=8 July 2013 |access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 10 July, government forces captured several areas in the Bab Hud district. Heavy artillery strikes continued on Khalidiya, Wadi al-Sayeh, Hamidiya, Bab Hud and Baba al-Turkman. Meanwhile, most civilians had fled Khalidiya, with only rebel fighters and their families remaining, according to an opposition activist.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23285869|title=Syrian rebel fighters' civil war within a civil war|work=BBC News|date=12 July 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}}

By 11 July, rebel forces were preparing to retreat from the city, citing attrition of manpower and overwhelming military bombardment from government forces. Diplomats and opposition sources reported that the last opposition-held areas of Homs were set to fall within days to the Syrian army after the rebel forces decided to "sacrifice" the country's third-largest city to the government.{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/syrian-rebels-prepare-to-abandon-homs/story-fnb64oi6-1226678668640|title=Syrian rebels prepare to abandon Homs|work=TheAustralian |access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 22 July, opposition activists claimed Army shelling had destroyed the historic mausoleum of a companion of the Prophet Mohammed in the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque.{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130722-army-shelling-destroys-historic-syrian-shrine-ngo|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130724134539/http://www.france24.com/en/20130722-army-shelling-destroys-historic-syrian-shrine-ngo|url-status=dead|title=Army shelling destroys historic Syrian shrine: NGO - FRANCE 24|date=24 July 2013|archive-date=24 July 2013|website=archive.is}}

On 24 July, it was reported that government bombardment of rebel areas had abruptly ceased "in recent days" in response to rebels firing Grad rockets at government-supporting civilian areas in other parts of the city the previous week.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jul-24/224816-rebels-target-civilian-areas-to-induce-cease-fire.ashx|title=Rebels target civilian areas to induce cease-fire|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=25 October 2014}} However, on 25 July, more artillery attacks on Khalidiya were reported.[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=205424832 Syria Lashes Out At US Move To Arm Rebels] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726032635/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=205424832 |date=26 July 2013 }}

On 26 July, government forces advanced further into Khalidiya and the district of Jouret el-Shayah. Soldiers had reached 50 meters from the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque.{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=205706415|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130726151127/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=205706415|url-status=dead|title=Syrian Troops Advance in Central City : NPR|date=26 July 2013|archive-date=26 July 2013|website=archive.is}} By the next day, soldiers had entered the mosque area from the eastern side and the Army captured the mosque itself. Government and Hezbollah forces had also taken control of 60 percent of Khalidiya.{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/217217651.html|title=Syrian troops capture historic mosque in central city of Homs amid fierce government offensive|website=Star Tribune |access-date=25 October 2014}} That night, state TV broadcast a report with footage from inside the heavily damaged mosque. The footage showed the tomb's dome knocked out and a portion of the mosque appeared to have been burned.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/27/syrian-troops-capture-historic-mosque-in-homs/2592611/|title=Syrian troops capture historic mosque in Homs|agency=Associated Press|date=27 July 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}}

By 28 July, most of Khalidiya, estimated to be 70 percent,{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jul-29/225419-syrian-army-advances-into-key-homs-district.ashx#axzz2aNo88gAx|title=Syrian army advances into key Homs district|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|date=29 July 2013 |access-date=25 October 2014}} was under Army control, with fighting continuing on the northern and southern outskirts of the district.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-20406.aspx|title=Homs 'rebel' district in firm Syrian govt grip after clashes|author=Times of Oman|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130728161444/http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-20406.aspx|archive-date=28 July 2013}} According to an Army officer, rebels were still controlling the northern part of Khalidiya. The military advances left only the Old Homs area under rebel control,{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/syrians-hezbollah-set-to-retake-key-homs-rebel-area-113072800674_1.html|title=Syrians, Hezbollah set to retake key Homs rebel area|author=AFP|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=28 July 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} where an estimated 1,000 rebel fighters remained.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10208514/Syrian-army-crushes-key-rebel-stronghold-in-Homs.html|title=Syrian army crushes key rebel stronghold in Homs|date=29 July 2013|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=25 October 2014}} The next day, opposition activists confirmed 90 percent of the district had been captured by the Army,{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/459554|title=Syria army retakes key Homs rebel district|date=29 July 2013|access-date=25 October 2014}} with scattered fighting continuing in the southern areas.{{cite web|url=http://www.hsconnect.com/page/content.detail/id/349224/Syrian-TV--Troops-capture-key-Homs-neighborhood.html?isap=1&nav=5030|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130729161323/http://www.hsconnect.com/page/content.detail/id/349224/Syrian-TV--Troops-capture-key-Homs-neighborhood.html?isap=1&nav=5030|url-status=dead|title=Syrian TV: Troops capture key Homs neighborhood - Steubenville, Winte…|date=29 July 2013|archive-date=29 July 2013|website=archive.is}} That night, SOHR reported that the Army had taken full control of Khalidiya after capturing the Masakin al-Mu'alimin quarter.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

During this time, the military blew up the last of the rebel smuggling tunnels going into Old Homs, leaving the area completely sealed off.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/01/29/268404385/welcome-to-homs-a-syrian-city-under-siege|title=Welcome To Homs, A Syrian City Under Siege|date=29 January 2014|work=NPR.org|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 1 August, rebels launched rockets into the Wadi Dahab district of Homs, causing massive explosions at a weapons depot that killed at least 40 people and injured at least 120.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-president-assad-lauds-his-military-troops-says-they-will-win-in-countrys-conflict/2013/08/01/957068d4-fa7e-11e2-89f7-8599e3f77a67_story.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130802135450/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-president-assad-lauds-his-military-troops-says-they-will-win-in-countrys-conflict/2013/08/01/957068d4-fa7e-11e2-89f7-8599e3f77a67_story.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2 August 2013 | title=Massive weapons depot blast in Syria kills 40; Assad visits troops outside capital | newspaper=The Washington Post| date=1 August 2013 }}

On 5 August, Syrian defence minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij met with SAA troops in the captured district of Khalidiya. The state run "SANA" news agency reported that the general conducted a tour of the area and "visited army units restoring security and stability in the neighbourhood".{{cite news| url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/syrian-defence-minister-tours-seized-homs-district/ | work=Fox News | title=Syrian defence minister 'tours seized Homs district' | date=5 August 2013}}

On 21 September 2013, the report "Homs misery 'like siege of Stalingrad'" by The Australian newspaper cited a doctor on location as giving the number remaining trapped in Homs as "3000 people and 1000 are injured, many women and children." The source further described the conditions of those trapped in the city where "most buildings in the Old City district, the last rebel-held enclave, had been flattened by artillery and the remaining inhabitants were living in basements." as follows: "We have to drink from polluted wells and wash in the sewage water," the doctor said. "We eat leaves and rotten rice. We have had no electricity for 500 days."{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/homs-misery-like-siege-of-stalingrad/story-fnb64oi6-1226723939208#|title=Homs misery 'like siege of Stalingrad'|access-date=25 October 2014}}

In late September, it was reported that the Army and rebels in some villages around Homs ceased hostilities, and FSA fighters were present in government-held areas without being molested. There was, however, no discussions on lifting the siege on the Old Homs area.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/a-syrian-solution-to-civil-conflict-the-free-syrian-army-is-holding-talks-with-assads-senior-staff-8847615.html|title=A Syrian solution to civil conflict? The Free Syrian Army is holding talks with Assad's senior staff|work=The Independent|date=29 September 2013|access-date=30 September 2013|location=London|first=Robert|last=Fisk}}

On 9 October, AFP reported that "rebel shelling of one of Syria's two main oil refineries" in Homs city had set the plant on fire. According to the report, "The Homs refinery had a pre-war capacity of 5.7 million tonnes per year but Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said earlier this month that it was running at 10 percent of that. The other main plant at Banias on the Mediterranean coast -- heartland of the Assad regime -- is still refining at 80 percent of capacity, Halqi said."[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNbGy_XiVyXBe0AO09tp8-8XGS8Q?docId=9347003b-25d1-4036-88f8-1c115fc7c1c0 Syria rebel shelling sparks oil refinery fire] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219063125/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNbGy_XiVyXBe0AO09tp8-8XGS8Q?docId=9347003b-25d1-4036-88f8-1c115fc7c1c0 |date=19 February 2014 }}

On 12 October, Asharq Al-Awsat (a Saudi-linked pan-Arab newspaper) reported upon an exclusive interview with "FSA media and political coordinator Louay Miqdad" that "the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has announced that it is prepared to abide by a "temporary truce" in Homs and Rif Dimashq with Assad forces during Eid Al-Adha in order to facilitate humanitarian access to the two governorates. However, the FSA rejected a prolonged 9-month ceasefire with the Assad regime in order to allow the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to carry out its operations overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile."{{cite web|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319077|title=Syria: FSA open to "temporary" ceasefire|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025181923/http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319077|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}}

In late November, the Army began an assault on the last remaining rebel-held pockets.{{cite journal|url=http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-22/238647-islamist-group-in-syria-calls-on-rebel-forces-to-unite-behind-it.ashx#axzz2jVRVxOhD|title=Islamist group in Syria calls on rebel forces to unite behind it|journal=Daily Star|date=22 November 2013|access-date=22 November 2013|archive-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524151319/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-22/238647-islamist-group-in-syria-calls-on-rebel-forces-to-unite-behind-it.ashx#axzz2jVRVxOhD|url-status=dead}} On the evening of 8 January 2014, a group of 60 rebels from within Old Homs attempted to break the siege of the area. Government forces ambushed them near Khalidiya leaving at least 45 rebel fighters dead in fighting that lasted into the next morning.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140109/at-least-45-syrian-rebels-killed-homs-fighting-0|title=At least 45 Syrian rebels killed in Homs fighting|work=GlobalPost|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=10 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110000231/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140109/at-least-45-syrian-rebels-killed-homs-fighting-0|url-status=dead}} The remaining 18 fighters were missing.{{cite web|url=http://syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=13632&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UtAxTvRDufU|title=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان - المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|work=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|access-date=25 June 2015}} After the ambush, the Army launched an assault in an attempt to push into the Matahan area of Old Homs, where 150 rebels were putting up resistance, but their attack was beaten back. However, armoured Army reinforcements were sent from Damascus towards Homs.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-threeway-war-free-syrian-army-rebels-fight-the-regime-and-now-the-islamists-9052660.html|title=Syria's three-way war: Free Syrian Army rebels fight the regime and, now, the Islamists|work=The Independent|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 7 February 2014, a three-day truce was signed between the Syrian government and the rebels, under the auspices of the UN to allow the evacuation of civilians from the besieged neighborhoods of Homs.{{cite web|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/guerre-en-syrie/20140208.OBS5625/syrie-la-treve-humanitaire-troublee-par-des-explosions-a-homs.html |title=SYRIE. La trêve humanitaire troublée par des explosions à Homs - 8 février 2014 - Le Nouvel Observateur |date=8 February 2014 |publisher=Tempsreel.nouvelobs.com |access-date=13 May 2014}} The first day of the operation, 83 people were evacuated from besieged areas of the Old City.{{cite web|author=par RFI |url=http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20140208-homs-evacuation-civils-poursuit-syrie-humanitaire-bachar-assad-onu/ |title=Homs: l'évacuation des civils se poursuit - France - RFI |date=8 February 2014 |publisher=Rfi.fr |access-date=13 May 2014}}

On 8 February, both sides are accused of having broken the truce but the operation continued.{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/853828/syrie-regime-et-opposition-saccusent-davoir-viole-la-treve-humanitaire-a-homs.html |title=Syrie : régime et opposition s'accusent d'avoir violé la trêve humanitaire à Homs - L'Orient-Le Jour |date=8 February 2014 |publisher=Lorientlejour.com |access-date=13 May 2014}}

On 9 February 611 civilians out of the besieged neighborhoods: 210 women, 180 children, 91 men in age above 55, and 130 young men surrendered according to SOHR.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} The truce was extended of 72 hours.{{cite web|url=http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2014/02/10/syrie-reprise-des-negociations-a-geneve-600-civils-evacues-de-homs_979039 |title=Erreur - Libération|access-date=10 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222022320/http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2014/02/10/syrie-reprise-des-negociations-a-geneve-600-civils-evacues-de-homs_979039 |archive-date=22 February 2014 }}

On 17 February, Jeffrey White, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior American intelligence official, was quoted by the New York Times claiming that Assad government was conducting barrel-bomb attacks in Homs using Russian-supplied Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/middleeast/russia-is-scolded-as-us-weighs-syria-options.html?hp | work=The New York Times | first1=Michael R. | last1=Gordon | first2=David E. | last2=Sanger | first3=Eric | last3=Schmitt | title=U.S. Scolds Russia as It Weighs Options on Syrian War | date=17 February 2014}}

By mid-March, 1,500 rebels and civilians, 100 of them wounded, were still trapped in Old Homs. They came to feel abandoned and faced only with the choices of abandoning Old Homs or making a last stand to the death. At this time, there was also talk of a truce with government forces, but without any results.[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyFrXgQZvOHBzjqnar6n-HPDrjEA?docId=cee9ccf2-2f27-4de3-8d49-c0cd00f2ac71&hl=en Rebels in Syria's Homs fight for a shattered dream] {{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

File:Homs (April 15 2014).svg

On 31 March 2014, government troops captured two towers in the 7th Island area in the al-Waer neighborhood,{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=17271&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.Uzlz7PmSyfU|title=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان - المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|work=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|access-date=25 June 2015}} as well as several buildings in the al-Jazira al-Sab'a area of the district.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

On 6 April, it was initially reported a car-bomb that the rebels were preparing exploded prematurely in Old Homs killing 29 rebel fighters and leaving dozens missing.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/scores-killed-violence-across-syria-201446175226759914.html|title=Scores killed in violence across Syria|access-date=25 October 2014}} Later, reports suggested either an ambush by government forces or a Grad missile that hit a rebel ammunition depot{{cite web|url=http://twocircles.net/2014apr06/ammunition_depot_blast_kills_30_rebels_syria.html#.U0GJYPmSyfU|title=Ammunition depot blast kills 30 rebels in Syria|date=6 April 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}} in the Jourat al-Shayyah area left 50–75 rebels dead, including dozens of senior officers.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Apr-06/252455-explosion-kills-at-least-50-rebels-in-homs.ashx#axzz2xwJ5DC3q|title=Explosion kills at least 50 rebels in Homs|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=25 October 2014}} Among those killed was also the FSA provincial commander, Abdul Qadir al-Homsi.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CdricLabrousse/status/452779220323028994|title=The Arab Chronicle 1|access-date=25 October 2014}} After the explosion, only 500–600 rebels were estimated to had remained in the Old Homs area out of 2,000 six months earlier, according to an opposition source.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CdricLabrousse/status/452857319538556928|title=The Arab Chronicle 2|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 7 April, Dutch Christian priest Frans van der Lugt was executed by an unknown gunman who stormed into his house.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26927068|title=Syria: Dutch priest Fr van der Lugt shot dead in Homs|work=BBC News|date=7 April 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 10 April, the military launched a major offensive against the Old Homs area.{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/04/15/mortars-kill-1-child-wound-dozens-in-damascus|title=Syrian forces try seize rebel-held areas of Homs, weakened by defections and cut supply lines|work=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=25 October 2014}} On 14 April, pro-government NDF militia reinforcements arrived as government forces entered the Wadi al-Sayeh neighborhood, which lies between Jourat al-Shayyah and the Old City. By the next day, they had captured several buildings in the area.{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-army-launches-assault-on-besieged-homs-state-tv.aspx?pageID=238&nid=65084|title=Syria army launches assault on besieged Homs: state TV|date=15 April 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014}} An opposition source reported the garages area between Jourat al-Shayyah and Qussour had been captured by government troops as they continued to advance.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CdricLabrousse/status/456146386887536640|title=The Arab Chronicle 3|access-date=25 October 2014}} Meanwhile, rebel lines in Hamidiyah in Old Homs were tenuous as NDF forces were fighting in the outskirts of the area and advancing.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CdricLabrousse/status/456156491771150337|title=The Arab Chronicle 4|access-date=25 October 2014}} Heavy artillery and mortar fire also hit the al-Waer neighborhood.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CdricLabrousse/status/456153352800178176|title=The Arab Chronicle 5|access-date=25 October 2014}} According to a pro-government source, the Army had breached the rebel defense line in the Bab Houd district.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PetoLucem/status/456167698003947520|title=Peto Lucem|access-date=25 October 2014}}

By 16 April, an estimated 300–1,000 rebel fighters had surrendered since March. Some of the remaining rebel fighters in Old Homs were getting ready for a fight to the death, preparing suicide belts for use in case the Army breaches their lines, as the opposition All4Syria news site predicted that the remaining rebel-held areas of the center of the city would fall within a week.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-army-steps-up-homs-offensive-as-rebels-look-for-exit/2014/04/16/c95f1a40-54b0-417c-b912-105bc7fc99f6_story.html|title=As Syrian army steps up Homs offensive, rebels look for exit or prepare for final fight|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 October 2014}}

During this time, the Syrian Opposition Coalition issued an urgent appeal as fears of a new massacre grew.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/syrian-rebels-warn-homs-massacre|title=Syrian rebels warn of potential Homs massacre as regime troops advance|author=Ian Black|work=the Guardian|date=17 April 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 18 April, a car-bomb exploded in a government-held district near a mosque killing 14 people, while Army troops captured a church in Old Homs and were continuing to advance.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Apr-18/253789-syria-army-advances-in-besieged-homs-security.ashx#axzz2z9v8PAEI|title=Syria army advances in besieged Homs: security|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|date=18 April 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 19 April, rebels launched a counter-offensive, which started with a suicide car-bomb attack on an Army checkpoint at the entrance of the government-held Jeb al-Jandali neighbourhood. Right before the attack, which killed five soldiers, other soldiers at the checkpoint defected and abandoned their positions. By the next day, opposition forces captured several buildings in the Jeb al-Jandali area.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140420/rebels-syrias-homs-go-counter-offensive|title=Rebels in Syria's Homs go on counter-offensive|work=GlobalPost|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170959/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140420/rebels-syrias-homs-go-counter-offensive|url-status=dead}} Two of the buildings that were captured were the Al Jala'a swimming pool{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=18171&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.U1R0jvmSyfU|title=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان - المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|work=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|access-date=25 June 2015}} and a school which government forces attempted to recapture during the day.{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=18190&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.U1R0MfmSyfU|title=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان - المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|work=المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان|access-date=25 June 2015}}

By 22 April, government troops retook full control of the Jeb al-Jandali neighborhood.{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=18310&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.U1axRvmSyfU|title=Regular forces regain control of the district of Jeb Jandali|access-date=25 October 2014}} At this time, dozens of rebel fighters in Old Homs were trying to surrender, while others wanted to make a last stand and were sending suicide bombers against districts under government control, primarily the ones with an Alawite majority. At least five such bombings during the month killed more than 60 people. Fighters were also turning on comrades they suspected of a desire to desert, pushing them into battle. According to an opposition activist: "We expect Homs to fall. In the next few days, it could be under the regime's control."{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/04/22/Syrian-rebels-make-last-stand-for-Homs.html|title=Syrian rebels make last stand for Homs|date=22 April 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 29 April, a double rebel car-bomb attack in the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood of the government-held Zahra district{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140430/death-toll-attacks-syrias-homs-now-at-100-1|title=Death toll from attacks in Syria's Homs now at 100|work=GlobalPost|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=29 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029110725/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140430/death-toll-attacks-syrias-homs-now-at-100-1|url-status=dead}} left 168 people dead. Among those killed were 147 civilians, including 46 children, and 12 pro-government fighters. Nine fatalities were unidentified.{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=18745&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.U2YKPvmSyfU|title=368 died yesterday, including 113 civilians, citizen|access-date=25 October 2014}}

On 2 May 2014, a ceasefire agreement had been reached, under which the remaining 1,000 rebel fighters would be allowed to leave Homs and head to the rebel-controlled countryside north of the city. The evacuation was scheduled for the next day.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/May-02/255119-reports-ceasefire-reached-in-syrian-city-of-homs.ashx#axzz30ILYKXL7|title=Deal for Syria rebels to withdraw from Homs bastion|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021014739/https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/May-02/255119-reports-ceasefire-reached-in-syrian-city-of-homs.ashx#axzz30ILYKXL7|url-status=dead}}[http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/02/4880522/syrian-tv-car-bombs-hit-central.html#.U2QCjfmSyfU Cease-fire, evacuation deal in Syria's Homs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503030403/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/02/4880522/syrian-tv-car-bombs-hit-central.html#.U2QCjfmSyfU |date=3 May 2014 }} A matter of dispute remained in the agreement on whether the rebel-held al-Waer district, which is not connected to Old Homs, would be included in the deal.[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=308894802 Cease-Fire, Evacuation Deal In Syria's Homs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503013934/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=308894802 |date=3 May 2014 }}

On 3 May, talks on the rebel withdrawal from Homs entered their final phase. According to the provincial governor, the deal "will be applied first in the Old City, then in Waer. The goal is to reach a peaceful solution that brings back security and government institutions."[https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/23181423/jihadist-battle-sparks-exodus-syria-rebels-on-way-out-of-homs/ Jihadist battle sparks exodus, Syria rebels on way out of Homs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504002345/https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/23181423/jihadist-battle-sparks-exodus-syria-rebels-on-way-out-of-homs/ |date=4 May 2014 }}

On 4 May, talks entered the implementation phase. Under the agreement, relief would be allowed into two Shiite pro-government towns in the northern province of Aleppo besieged by rebels. Also, Iranian and Lebanese prisoners held by the rebels would be released.{{cite web|url=http://www.enca.com/world/homs-accord-rebel-pullout-syria-army-advances|title=Homs accord on rebel pullout as Syria army advances|author=eNCA|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524082600/http://www.enca.com/world/homs-accord-rebel-pullout-syria-army-advances|url-status=dead}}

On 7 May, the evacuation of rebels from Homs started with two buses transporting the first group of fighters toward rebel-held areas of northern Homs province.{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-homs-idINKBN0DN0LQ20140507|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205022/http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-homs-idINKBN0DN0LQ20140507|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2016|title=Rebels start withdrawal from Homs, cradle of Syrian uprising|newspaper=Reuters|date=7 May 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}} In all, more than 960 rebels were evacuated during the day, with another 250 scheduled to be transported out the next day.[http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/08/4895175/syrian-tv-huge-explosion-levels.html#.U2ti9fmSyfU Syrian rebels claim massive Aleppo hotel bombing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508224700/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/08/4895175/syrian-tv-huge-explosion-levels.html#.U2ti9fmSyfU |date=8 May 2014}}

On 8 May, the final batch of 270 rebel fighters was expected to leave the city. However, rebels in Aleppo province blocked aid convoys that were supposed to bring food and medical supplies to two besieged government-held Shiite towns per the established agreement. Due to the failure of the rebels to uphold their side of the agreement, government forces blocked the remaining rebels in Old Homs from leaving. The convoys were not allowed to enter the towns the previous day as well by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-homs-idUSBREA4806Q20140509|title=Deal breakdown leaves 270 rebels trapped in Syria's Homs|work=Reuters|date=9 May 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}}

During the afternoon of 9 May, the last of the rebels retreated from Homs after the aid convoys were allowed to enter the Shiite towns. Shortly after, hundreds of residents of Old Homs started to return to the area.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/05/09/syrians_make_emotional_return_to_homs.html|title=Syrians make emotional return to Homs|work=thestar.com|date=9 May 2014|access-date=25 October 2014}}

File:Rebels and civilians prepare to evacuate the Waer neighbourhood of Homs.png after an agreement to surrender the area to government forces]]

Rebels and civilians who rejected the retreat deal in May 2014 concentrated in the Al-Waer neighborhood of Homs which continued to be besieged.{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=29821|title=Deaths in al-Wa'er neighborhood in Homs and in al-Tabaqa city|date=23 August 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://syriauntold.com/2016/03/15/civil-assembly-a-syrian-vision-in-al-waer-homs/|title=» Civil Assembly: A Syrian Vision in al-Wa'er, Homs}} A new surrender deal was announced 12 September 2016, that was to bring the al-Waer neighborhood under government control while evacuating about 300 rebel fighters to the northern Homs countryside. The rebels began the execution of the deal on 22 September.{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-rebels-families-evacuate-last-rebel-held-district-homs/|title=Video: Rebels + their families evacuate last rebel-held district in Homs|last=cronaldo753|date=22 September 2016|access-date=22 September 2016|archive-date=27 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427121859/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-rebels-families-evacuate-last-rebel-held-district-homs/|url-status=dead}} However, the deal was put on hold in November 2016, with Syrian Army resuming its assault on the district.{{cite web|url=https://syriadirect.org/news/surrender-talks-fall-apart-in-last-rebel-held-district-of-homs-city/|title=Surrender talks fall apart in last rebel-held district of Homs city|website=Syria Direct|date=17 November 2016}}

On 13 March 2017, the first batch of remaining rebels in the Waer neighbourhood agreed to leave Homs with their families and depart to Jarabulus.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39255980|title=Syria conflict: Rebels agree to leave last Homs enclave|work=BBC|date=13 March 2017}} The evacuation of rebels along with their family members began on 18 March.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-homs-20170318-story.html|title=Syrian fighters begin evacuating from last rebel-held neighborhood in Homs|work=Los Angeles Times|date=18 March 2017}} On 27 March, 1,850 rebels and residents departed the neighbourhood in 45 buses.{{cite web|url=http://syriadirect.org/news/%E2%80%98we-lost%E2%80%99-says-waer-opposition-negotiator-as-second-convoy-of-fighters-residents-departs-homs-city|title='We lost' says Waer opposition negotiator as second convoy of fighters, residents departs Homs city|work=Syria:direct|date=27 March 2017|access-date=28 March 2017|archive-date=28 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195750/http://syriadirect.org/news/%E2%80%98we-lost%E2%80%99-says-waer-opposition-negotiator-as-second-convoy-of-fighters-residents-departs-homs-city|url-status=dead}} A final batch of 3,000 people, including 700 rebels, left Homs on 21 May. 1,150 rebels chose to stay and surrendered their weapons. With this, the Syrian government regained full control of Homs.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKBN18H0L7|title=Syrian rebels leave last opposition district in Homs|work=Reuters|date=21 May 2017}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://carnegie-mec.org/2016/03/10/strength-in-weakness-syrian-army-s-accidental-resilience/iuz7 |title=Strength in Weakness: The Syrian Army's Accidental Resilience |date=21 April 2012 |first=Kheder|last=Khaddour|work=Carnegie Middle East Center |access-date=6 October 2017}}

• {{Flagdeco|UN}} 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.

"A major assault on Homs took place yesterday," Ban told the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on 2 March 2012. "Civilian losses have clearly been heavy. We continue to received grisly reports of summary executions, arbitrary detentions and torture. This atrocious assault is all the more appalling for having been waged by the government itself, systematically attacking its own people". Activists said that government forces were rounding up people aged between 14-50 and executing them in batches.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012334752803236.html |title=UN chief criticises 'atrocious' Homs assault |date=3 March 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012}}

• {{Flagdeco|France}} France

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/syria-journalists-escape_n_1306010.html|title=Syria Violence: Wounded Journalists Escape, Military Pounds Opposition Areas|date=28 February 2012|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=25 October 2014}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/france-apr-19-2012-1221 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708033957/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/france-apr-19-2012-1221 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 July 2012 |title=Thu, 19 Apr 2012, 10:21 GMT+3 - France |date=19 April 2012 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 April 2012 }}

• Damascus-born filmmaker Talal Derki's Return to Homs - awarded World Cinema Grand Jury Prize:Documentary, Sundance Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/program|title='19 Sundance Film Festival - Digital Program Guide|website=www.sundance.org|access-date=13 February 2019|archive-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117085522/http://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/program|url-status=dead}}
• The siege is documented in the Syrian documentary film Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait, released in Cannes (out of competition) on 15 May 2014.{{cite news | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/silvered-water-syria-portrait-cannes-704357 | title='Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait': Cannes Review | work=The Hollywood Reporter| date=15 May 2014 | access-date=18 May 2014 | author=Young, Deborah}}

{{Reflist|group=N}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Portal|Asia}}

• {{cite journal |last=Sayfo |first=Omar Adam |title=Mock Homs at Your Own Risk: The epicenter of Syria's revolt has long been the butt of jokes. But Homs may get the last laugh |journal=Foreign Policy |date=17 February 2012 |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/02/17/mock_homs_at_your_own_risk }}
• {{Cite report |year= 2017 |title= No Return to Homs: A case study on demographic engineering in Syria |url= http://syriainstitute.org/2017/02/21/no-return-to-homs-a-case-study-on-demographic-engineering-in-syria/ |location= Washington, DC |publisher= The Syria Institute and PAX |access-date= 7 August 2017 }}

• [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/11/11/we-live-war We Live as in War], Human Rights Watch, 11 November 2011
• [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/12/15/all-means-necessary By All Means Necessary!], Human Rights Watch, 16 December 2011
• [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/04/09/cold-blood In Cold Blood], Human Rights Watch, 10 April 2012.
• [http://vimeo.com/51510377 Documentary: A Day In Homs] Press TV documentary on Vimeo
• [http://vimeo.com/75101574 Documentary: Secret Treaties] Press TV documentary on Vimeo
• {{YouTube|lg0O0N9HJaY|Homs: Journey into Hell}} documentary by BBC One

{{Syrian civil war}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homs}}

Category:Homs in the Syrian civil war

Category:Sieges of the Syrian civil war

Category:Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2011

Category:Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2012

Category:Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2013

Category:Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2014

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the al-Nusra Front

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Free Syrian Army

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Hezbollah

de:Homs#Homs während des Bürgerkrieges