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A Pulverized Prize Changes Hands, Peacefully, in Syria A Pulverized Prize Changes Hands, Peacefully, in Syria
(4 months later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The last busloads of insurgents left the battered Old City of Homs in central Syria on Friday, under a deal handing over the longtime bastion of rebellion to the government after nearly two years of blockade and bombardment. BEIRUT, Lebanon — The last busloads of insurgents left the battered Old City of Homs in central Syria on Friday, under a deal handing over the longtime bastion of rebellion to the government after nearly two years of blockade and bombardment.
Residents trickled in to gaze in shock at blocks of bomb-bitten homes. Some wheeled bicycles or carried gawking children on their shoulders, while others wept and fled in grief from camera operators, in scenes captured on state television and in snapshots that flooded social media. Soldiers giving the victory sign planted government flags in a square at the edge of the district.Residents trickled in to gaze in shock at blocks of bomb-bitten homes. Some wheeled bicycles or carried gawking children on their shoulders, while others wept and fled in grief from camera operators, in scenes captured on state television and in snapshots that flooded social media. Soldiers giving the victory sign planted government flags in a square at the edge of the district.
Across the country, in Aleppo Province in the north, rebels allowed a convoy of trucks delivering humanitarian aid into villages they had long blockaded, fulfilling their end of the deal so that the government would allow the last fighters out of Homs.Across the country, in Aleppo Province in the north, rebels allowed a convoy of trucks delivering humanitarian aid into villages they had long blockaded, fulfilling their end of the deal so that the government would allow the last fighters out of Homs.
In carrying out the complex pact, the government and its armed opponents displayed a new ability to talk and coordinate with one another. Officials said the effort could pave the way for an agreement to evacuate fighters from Hay al-Waer, the last insurgent-held district on the outskirts of Homs, and to end the government’s blockade of about 200,000 people there, half of them displaced from elsewhere.In carrying out the complex pact, the government and its armed opponents displayed a new ability to talk and coordinate with one another. Officials said the effort could pave the way for an agreement to evacuate fighters from Hay al-Waer, the last insurgent-held district on the outskirts of Homs, and to end the government’s blockade of about 200,000 people there, half of them displaced from elsewhere.
But even as this deal appeared successful, United Nations officials in Geneva warned that there was no broad solution in sight to the civil war or the severe humanitarian crisis it has spawned.But even as this deal appeared successful, United Nations officials in Geneva warned that there was no broad solution in sight to the civil war or the severe humanitarian crisis it has spawned.
Instead, the officials said, the war has driven nearly three million refugees out of Syria, with the numbers increasing by 100,000 each month. At that rate, said Amin Awad, the regional director of the United Nations refugee agency, by the end of the year Syria will have become the worst refugee crisis since World War II. Inside the country, 3.5 million people are in areas where it is often impossible to deliver aid, and an additional 240,000 are trapped behind military blockades. More than nine million people are in need of humanitarian aid.Instead, the officials said, the war has driven nearly three million refugees out of Syria, with the numbers increasing by 100,000 each month. At that rate, said Amin Awad, the regional director of the United Nations refugee agency, by the end of the year Syria will have become the worst refugee crisis since World War II. Inside the country, 3.5 million people are in areas where it is often impossible to deliver aid, and an additional 240,000 are trapped behind military blockades. More than nine million people are in need of humanitarian aid.
“There is no new news,” John Ging, operations director of the United Nations relief coordinating agency said, struggling for words to convey the dimensions of Syria’s devastation. “The new news here is that it’s getting worse and dramatically worse.”“There is no new news,” John Ging, operations director of the United Nations relief coordinating agency said, struggling for words to convey the dimensions of Syria’s devastation. “The new news here is that it’s getting worse and dramatically worse.”
Donors have provided less than a quarter of the $6.5 billion the United Nations requested in December to aid Syrians, but what is needed even more than money, Mr. Ging said, is action. He said political leaders should be asked, “How many more people will you accept to be killed before you do something different?”Donors have provided less than a quarter of the $6.5 billion the United Nations requested in December to aid Syrians, but what is needed even more than money, Mr. Ging said, is action. He said political leaders should be asked, “How many more people will you accept to be killed before you do something different?”
Although he said aid delivery would require cooperation from many armed groups, he laid the bulk of the blame on the government, in sharper terms than is often heard from the United Nations.Although he said aid delivery would require cooperation from many armed groups, he laid the bulk of the blame on the government, in sharper terms than is often heard from the United Nations.
“The government has first responsibility,” he said. “They claim sovereignty. We deal with them on that basis, that they are in the first instance responsible for ensuring that humanitarian action is facilitated throughout the country.”“The government has first responsibility,” he said. “They claim sovereignty. We deal with them on that basis, that they are in the first instance responsible for ensuring that humanitarian action is facilitated throughout the country.”
Mr. Ging said the Syrian government was either refusing to authorize the movement of medical supplies or removing them from convoys to stop them from being used to aid the war wounded, and he called that conduct “an abomination” and “wholly and totally unacceptable.”Mr. Ging said the Syrian government was either refusing to authorize the movement of medical supplies or removing them from convoys to stop them from being used to aid the war wounded, and he called that conduct “an abomination” and “wholly and totally unacceptable.”
Still, in two of Syria’s largest cities, Aleppo and Homs, there were extraordinary scenes in which insurgent and government fighters came into close quarters without violence, providing perhaps a glimmer of hope for a negotiated resolution.Still, in two of Syria’s largest cities, Aleppo and Homs, there were extraordinary scenes in which insurgent and government fighters came into close quarters without violence, providing perhaps a glimmer of hope for a negotiated resolution.
In Homs, rebels preparing to board buses with their rifles stood just yards away from police officers and soldiers who sat smoking. In Aleppo, fighters from the Islamic Front, an Islamist insurgent coalition, carefully searched boxes of United Nations rations as a government-escorted convoy idled on a windswept plain on its way to the villages of Zahra and Nubol.In Homs, rebels preparing to board buses with their rifles stood just yards away from police officers and soldiers who sat smoking. In Aleppo, fighters from the Islamic Front, an Islamist insurgent coalition, carefully searched boxes of United Nations rations as a government-escorted convoy idled on a windswept plain on its way to the villages of Zahra and Nubol.
But peaceful interaction did not necessarily spell reconciliation, the government’s name for what insurgents call surrender or retreat in the face of starvation tactics.But peaceful interaction did not necessarily spell reconciliation, the government’s name for what insurgents call surrender or retreat in the face of starvation tactics.
Standing in front of the Khaled bin al-Waleed mosque in Homs, an insurgent rallying point heavily damaged in the fighting, a fighter who said he was 18 but had the smooth cheeks of a younger boy nodded toward nearby soldiers.Standing in front of the Khaled bin al-Waleed mosque in Homs, an insurgent rallying point heavily damaged in the fighting, a fighter who said he was 18 but had the smooth cheeks of a younger boy nodded toward nearby soldiers.
“Those are infidels, our enemy and the enemy of our religion,” he said. “They are smiling because they think that we will go back to the lap of the regime, but no, we will get to God, to heaven one day. Soon we will be back.”“Those are infidels, our enemy and the enemy of our religion,” he said. “They are smiling because they think that we will go back to the lap of the regime, but no, we will get to God, to heaven one day. Soon we will be back.”
He added: “I will not lie to you: I am sad. I swear to God I feel that my heart is burning.”He added: “I will not lie to you: I am sad. I swear to God I feel that my heart is burning.”
Another fighter from Homs, Abu Bilal, said he would not compromise or reconcile with the government.Another fighter from Homs, Abu Bilal, said he would not compromise or reconcile with the government.
“We are leaving our land and our martyrs because the commanders of the brigades let us down,” he said in a video he posted online.“We are leaving our land and our martyrs because the commanders of the brigades let us down,” he said in a video he posted online.
Rebel fighters and government soldiers alike said that some of the fighters had spoken angrily to the soldiers on the way out, but one soldier said he had reason to tolerate it.Rebel fighters and government soldiers alike said that some of the fighters had spoken angrily to the soldiers on the way out, but one soldier said he had reason to tolerate it.
“They were cursing us, in our faces, but we didn’t say anything,” said the soldier, who was reached in Damascus. “We should absorb their anger and calm down the situation.”“They were cursing us, in our faces, but we didn’t say anything,” said the soldier, who was reached in Damascus. “We should absorb their anger and calm down the situation.”
“It’s a street war, more difficult than the regular wars,” he added. “We’re tired, dear. All the people got hurt; no one is happy. Don’t believe everything you hear in the news.”“It’s a street war, more difficult than the regular wars,” he added. “We’re tired, dear. All the people got hurt; no one is happy. Don’t believe everything you hear in the news.”
He said unknown gunmen had wounded a comrade as the insurgents were escorted out.He said unknown gunmen had wounded a comrade as the insurgents were escorted out.
During an evacuation of civilians and fighters in February, aid convoys came under fire from pro-government militias opposed to any escape or aid for insurgents, until orders came directly from President Bashar al-Assad not to interfere. It is unclear whether some insurgents remain in hiding in the Old City.During an evacuation of civilians and fighters in February, aid convoys came under fire from pro-government militias opposed to any escape or aid for insurgents, until orders came directly from President Bashar al-Assad not to interfere. It is unclear whether some insurgents remain in hiding in the Old City.
A priest involved in negotiating the deal, the Rev. Ramzi Khazaal, warned residents not to open doors because mines were still being cleared. He stood in the ruins of the Um al-Zinar Church, burned and overgrown with grass, and said, “We will rebuild.”A priest involved in negotiating the deal, the Rev. Ramzi Khazaal, warned residents not to open doors because mines were still being cleared. He stood in the ruins of the Um al-Zinar Church, burned and overgrown with grass, and said, “We will rebuild.”