Once a bastion of freedom, Syrian area becomes ghost town

By Weedah Hamzah Feb 9, 2012, 15:20 GMT

Beirut - The blood-splattered streets of Baba Amr are littered with body parts, spent ammunition and rubble. Many of the residents have fled the once-bustling area in the central Syrian province of Homs.

'Death and darkness have shrouded the whole neighbourhood that was once filled by people calling for their freedom,' Omar Homsi, an activist in the area, told dpa by satellite phone.

'The district has turned into a ghost town as most of the survivors have fled.'

No one is safe in Baba Amr, which has been relentlessly bombarded by Syrian government troops for a week, killing more than 200 people, according to opposition activists.

Baba Amr is one of the key areas of Homs, which is called the 'capital of the Syrian revolution' for being centre stage in the 11-month uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The district's residents are mainly Sunni Muslims who had been coming out day after day, in large numbers, to demonstrate against al-Assad's regime.

'The streets of Baba Amr are deserted. Only very few of us are staying behind. The people wounded in the attacks are being treated in some shelters,' said Homsi.

The deafening sounds of the rocket and mortar attacks yield only occasionally to an eerie silence. Even the collective grief of the few residents remaining has lost its voice.

'Each family in this neighbourhood has lost a loved one. If not, they have two or three wounded members, mainly children,' said Homsi.

Now there are fears that the army defectors, who have been providing some security in the district, are getting ready to leave.

Homsi said the defectors were packing up to 'make a safe exist' as they expect government forces to take over Baba Amr soon in order to capture opponents of the regime.

'We are also preparing to leave the district in the coming hours with the (rebel) Syrian Free Army, which has been protecting us so far,' he said.

An estimated 3,000 soldiers backed by tanks have reportedly encircled the western side of Baba Amr, which Homsi said was aimed 'obviously to isolate the district from the other parts of Homs.'

According to him, government forces have also set up checkpoints in other areas of Homs, close to the Lebanese border, to block the delivery of medical supplies.

Another Syrian activist, based in the northern Lebanese side of the border, told dpa that the Syrian regime had tightened its grip on the border with assistance from the Lebanese Army.

'We have been unable to move or receive any wounded from Homs over the last two days,' said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said activists had set up a makeshift emergency room to treat the wounded coming in from Baba Amr and other areas in Homs.

Thousands of Syrians have fled for Lebanon since the pro-democracy revolt started in mid-March. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has registered more than 3,789 Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

However, Lebanese civil society organizations caring for the refugees put the figure closer to 5,000.