At least 45 rebels fighters from four different brigades were killed today in a series of clashes in Homs, with the biggest toll coming during an ambush in a government-held district.
“They were killed as they tried to launch an operation to end the siege of Homs,” noted the pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The city remains divided between rebel and government-held areas, and activists have complained the rebel-held areas are struggling to get access to food.
Like other major cities where clashes have carried on for months and months, most of the population has long since fled, but there are estimates of “several thousand” civilians remaining in rebel-held districts.
Syria’s state media reported the biggest ambush, killing 37 rebels in one go, while several smaller incidents were reported throughout the day. There were no words of any military casualties in the fighting.