Clashes in Homs as Syrian Troops Try to Displace Rebels

Free Syrian Army Orders Escalation Nationwide

Major fighting is reported in the Syrian city of Homs, with reports that some 7,000 regime troops are attempting to force their way into the contested Baba Amro district and are encountering major resistance from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) defectors.

FSA official Mohalmen al-Rumaid, who is inside neighboring Turkey, told the media that FSA fighters across the nation are being ordered to escalate their attacks “in revenge for Baba Amro” and to disrupt the supply route of the Assad forces in Homs.

Security forces for the regime claimed that most of the resistance in Homs had already been defeated and the move against Baba Amro was a “mopping up” job. While rebel fighters are saying they fear a “massacre,” so far it seems that it is simply a battle, part of the ongoing civil war.

Syrian state media is mostly leaving the fight in Homs uncovered, reporting only a single death of a nurse in an attack on a water treatment plant. The US is formally protesting the regime for fighting in Homs, but while there has been some lip-service given to a ceasefire they have yet to comment on the rebel fighters in the battle.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.