DAMASCUS, Syria
(AP) -- Syrian government forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah
militants forged ahead with their assault on a key rebel district in the
central city of Homs Sunday, activists said, as President Bashar
Assad's forces try to crush resistance in the few remaining
opposition-held neighborhoods in the city known as the "capital of the
revolution."
The push on Homs is part of a
broader government offensive on rebel-held areas that has seen regime
troops retake some of the territory they have lost to opposition
fighters in Syria's more than 2-year-old conflict. Assad's forces turned
their sights on Homs, the country's third-largest city, after capturing
the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanon border last month.
Government
troops have made headway in Homs in recent days, capturing a 13th
century landmark mosque in the contested Khaldiyeh neighborhood that had
been in rebel hands for more than a year. Homs holds immense symbolic
and strategic importance to both sides, and the ferocity of the fighting
for control of it has left much of the city in ruins.
The opposition accused the regime of pulverizing Khaldiyeh and said their victory was "hollow."
On
Sunday, Syrian state TV had live coverage from Khaldiyeh, which is
located on the northern edge of the Old City, broadcasting footage that
showed gaping holes in apartment blocks, shattered buildings with
collapsed floors and blackened facades. Soldiers and reporters walked
through rubble-strewn streets. The military took TV crews working for
pro-regime media outlets deep into the neighborhood, suggesting the army
was confident it had secured the area.
An
unidentified Syrian army commander standing before a destroyed building
in Khaldiyeh told an embedded state TV reporter that the military
expected to "liberate" the last part of the district within the next two
days.
Syrian government forces captured the
ancient Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque in Khaldiyeh on Saturday. Syrian TV
aired a report with video from inside the mosque, showing heavy damage.
The video showed debris littering the floor and a portion of the mosque
appeared to have been burned.
Famous for its
nine domes and two minarets, the mosque has been a symbol for rebels in
the city, and the government takeover dealt a powerful symbolic blow to
the rebellion. On Monday, government troops shelled the mosque, damaging
the tomb of Ibn al-Walid, a revered figure in Islam. Video showed the
tomb's roof knocked down.
The Observatory and
other activists said government troops are backed by members of
Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside regime forces in
their assault on rebel-held territory in the central region.
Syria's
main exiled opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition,
acknowledged that rebels had retreated from parts of Khaldiyeh, calling
it a "tactical withdrawal."
"After the heavy
bombardment of the Khaldiyeh area of Homs, using thousands of rockets,
explosive barrels and large amounts of heavy weaponry ... Assad forces
have managed to overtake a few yards of the land that they have
pulverized," it said in a statement.
It said
Assad was attempting the lift the sagging morale of his soldiers by
exaggerating its victory in Homs, and vowed that rebels would soon
retake the area.
In addition to its symbolic
value, Homs is a geographic lynchpin in Syria. The main highway from
Damascus to the north and the coast, a stronghold of President Bashar
Assad's Alawite sect, runs through Homs.
An
official in the Homs governor's office said a car bomb exploded near a
checkpoint on the Homs-Tartous highway, killing three people and
wounding 5 others. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to give official statements.
In
northeastern Syria, the death toll from nearly two weeks of clashes
between al-Qaida-linked fighters and Kurdish militiamen rose to 120,
according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
activist group. It said the dead include 79 fighters from the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat al-Nusra, both
al-Qaida-affiliated rebel groups. The Observatory monitors the Syrian
war through a network of activists on the ground.
The
latest round of fighting flared in Ras al-Ayn on July 6 in the
predominantly Kurdish province of Hassakeh in the northeast near the
Turkish border. Kurdish gunmen are fighting to expel the militants, whom
they see as a threat.
Also on Sunday, the
Coalition condemned the reported execution of scores of government
soldiers by rebels in a northern Syrian village several days ago, and
said "those involved in such crimes will be held accountable."
The
group, made up of exiled opposition leaders, said in a statement that
it was forming a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident in
Khan al-Assal.
Syrian activists say rebels
killed 150 government soldiers, some after they surrendered, on Monday
and Tuesday in the village outside Aleppo, the country's largest city.
State media said that 123 "civilians and military personnel" were killed in a "massacre" and others were still missing.
The
Coalition said initial reports showed "armed groups" not affiliated
with the main rebel coalition were involved. It did not elaborate, but
the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra says its fighters participated in
the battle.
Syrian Information Minister Omran
al-Zoubi said the crime "will not pass without punishment," vowing that
the perpetrators will pay a "dear price."
In
an interview with Syrian TV late Saturday, he said the "massacre" aimed
to spread fear and panic among people at a time when the Syrian military
was achieving significant progress on the ground.
In
a separate statement, the Coalition urged Egypt to release dozens of
Syrians it said were arrested last week allegedly for violating
residency regulations.
It said Egyptian police
arrested at least 72 Syrian men and nine boys at checkpoints on main
roads in Cairo. Some had valid visas or residence permits but were
arrested "on the pretext of not having residence permits," it said.
The
Coalition said regulations concerning Syrians' entrance into Egypt were
changed. Since July 8, Syrians have been required to obtain entry visas
and security clearance before they are allowed to enter Egypt.
It
urged the Egyptian government not to deport Syrians, saying Cairo has
an "ethical and humanitarian duty to protect the Syrian people fleeing
the tyranny" at home.
---
Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.
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