Syria’s third largest city Homs clear of opposition
BEIRUT — Syria’s government announced Sunday the country’s third largest city Homs— once named the capital of the revolt against President Bashar Assad— had been cleared of armed opposition for the first time in more than five years. The announcement follows the completion of the evacuation of the last rebel-held neighbourhood.
Besieged for four years, al-Waer was the last opposition-controlled district in Homs. The evacuation of armed fighters, their families and opposition activists, began several weeks ago, following a deal that effectively surrenders the district following the tightening siege coupled with a military campaign.
Similar deals have been reached recently, bringing a number of neighbourhoods near the capital, as well as the country’s former commercial centre and largest city Aleppo country, back to government control.
It is a major shift from a few years ago when the armed opposition was on the rise, threatening the capital and holding on to more than half of Aleppo.