Syrian rebels withdraw from stronghold in Homs as city braces for assault

Baba Amr had become an emblem of resistance with fighters maintaining their defiance despite daily reports of a pounding by artillery, sniper and tank fire as government forces encircled them. The announcement of a rebel pullout, a day after government forces seemed to crank up military pressure on the neighborhood, came as Western and Arab nations pressed to deepen the diplomatic isolation of the Damascus authorities.

A statement from the fighters within the neighborhood, the “Revolutionary Brigades of Baba Amr,” said they were making a tactical retreat because of the “drastic humanitarian situation for the residents” who are lacking food, medicine, water, electricity and any means of communication…

There are widespread concerns that the army units might exact revenge on the residents for holding out for a month — not least because the Syrian government has a history of murdering the residents of rebellious neighborhoods as it did in nearby Hama in 1982…

Despite its overwhelming strength in arms, the Syrian military has been hard-pressed to deploy all the units it needs to put down the fires of the uprising that have erupted across the country. Instead they have had to address rebellious cities one at a time. Once Homs is considered under control, the military is expected to address the uprising in Hama and particularly Idlib, where villages spread over a wide area have declared themselves free of the government.