Russia fails to rein in regime attacks in Syria’s Homs

For the last three years, Al-Waer’s roughly 60,000 residents have remained subject to a crippling siege by the Assad regime.

In recent months, the regime has stepped up its attacks on the town while blocking the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid.

According to Al-Waer’s local council, 51 civilians have been killed and 320 injured within the last month alone by regime air attacks.

Over the same period, local hospitals run by civil defense personnel have been targeted at least four times.

Al-Waer residents also face enormous difficulty accessing water and electricity, with many families now living in makeshift shelters built underground.

On Feb. 21, an attempt by a UN aid convoy to enter the besieged district was stymied by regime forces.

Two days later, the regime’s intelligence offices in the city of Homs were attacked.

Although the attack was reportedly carried out by the self-styled Committee for the Liberation of Damascus, the Assad regime used it as an excuse to bomb civilian targets in Al-Waer.

"The regime has stepped up its aggression against Al-Waer, blaming it for the attack on the intelligence buildings,” Osama Abu Zaid, a spokesman for Al-Waer’s press center, said.

“But it’s impossible to plan and carry out attacks from Al-Waer because the district remains entirely under siege," he added.

Noting that a group of district leaders had recently spoken with Russian officials, Abu Zaid said the latter had promised to submit a truce proposal for the district leaders’ consideration.

Under the terms of an earlier agreement between the regime, local councils and armed opposition groups, 2,000 district residents were allowed to depart for the city of Idlib in a process that still remains underway.

A ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia went into effect in Syria late last year.

Anadolu Agency