Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Syrian rebels surrender their strongholds in Homs
CTV News ^ | 05-07-2014 | Bassem Mroue

Posted on 05/07/2014 2:54:15 PM PDT by PaulCruz2016

BEIRUT -- Carrying their rifles and small bags of belongings, hundreds of exhausted Syrian rebels withdrew Wednesday from their last remaining strongholds in the heart of Homs, surrendering to President Bashar Assad a bloodstained city that was once the centre of the revolt against him.

For Assad, it is a powerful victory ahead of presidential elections. For the rebels, the dramatic exit after two years of enduring grueling assaults and siege captures their sense of abandonment amid world reluctance to help shift the balance of power on the ground.

"We ate grass and leaves until there was nothing left for us to eat," said opposition activist Abu Yassin al-Homsi, who was preparing to leave with the rebels later Wednesday. "We kept urging the international community to lift the siege but there was no response," he added.

The exit of some 1,200 fighters and civilians marks a de-facto end of the rebellion in the war shattered city, which was one of the first places to rise up against Assad's rule, earning its nickname as "the capital of the revolution."

(Excerpt) Read more at ctvnews.ca ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Syria
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; assad; homs; syria
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last

In this image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebels board a bus to leave Homs, Syria, Wednesday, May 7, 2014.
1 posted on 05/07/2014 2:54:15 PM PDT by PaulCruz2016
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016

Homs—bad luck city. Papa Assad killed something like 30,000; now the rebels run through it, and then Baby Assad recaptures it—an unhappy sequence to live through.


2 posted on 05/07/2014 2:55:55 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016

This is not a good thing. It is not necessarily a bad thing either. Assad is a thug. So were some of the rebels.


3 posted on 05/07/2014 2:57:05 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016; no-to-illegals; All

So how much more aid should Obama have offered, especially considering the questionable nature of some rebels and their financing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.


4 posted on 05/07/2014 3:00:27 PM PDT by gleeaikin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vigilanteman

Assad is the Devil You Know...Better him, than them.


5 posted on 05/07/2014 3:01:34 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016

Obama must be deeply saddened. Much like his rousing support of the Muslim brotherhood went astray at the hands of common citizens who had the temerity to discard his Allah sent views on Islamic life


6 posted on 05/07/2014 3:10:57 PM PDT by bill1952 (taxes don't hurt the rich, they keep YOU from becoming rich.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
Assad is the Devil You Know...Better him, than them.

Yep. As bad as Assad is, I don't think he dreams of eventually attacking an American city. But that's something the rebels probably discuss on a regular basis.

7 posted on 05/07/2014 3:12:22 PM PDT by Leaning Right (Why am I holding this lantern? I am looking for the next Reagan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator; Vigilanteman
Exactly. Compared to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), an Al Qaeda splinter group so vicious and radicalized that the parent Al Qaeda was fighting against them, Assad comes across as the better evil. Assad is a monster, but ISIS and a good deal of the other 'rebels' in Syria are far far worse. Not all the rebels are bad, but all the ones that achieved success seem to be.

This is yet another example that the REAL world is never black and white. Sound bites and political opinions fit well into a binary matrix of black and white, where the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys black. However, just because folk like Assad and Qaddafi and their ilk are veritable monsters - who need to be taken out of power - does not mean that there is no need to look at the alternative. Many times the alternative can be far worse. A rat in the house is a bad thing, but substituting it with a rattlesnake will never be prudent.

8 posted on 05/07/2014 3:14:49 PM PDT by spetznaz (Nuclear-tipped Ballistic Missiles: The Ultimate Phallic Symbol)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: bill1952

Not to worry, the admin is helping all the poor brotherhood terrorists escape to sanctuary here with us. Just grand.


9 posted on 05/07/2014 3:16:44 PM PDT by The Toll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine
Homs—bad luck city. Papa Assad killed something like 30,000

Actually, that was Hama. Homs is my mother's hometown, and has a large Christian population.
10 posted on 05/07/2014 3:16:58 PM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia (Democrats: The perfect party for the helpless and stupid, and those who would rule over them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016

So they were carrying rifles when they surrendered? Huh? You’re supposed to lay down your rifle then surrender. Stupid leaf-and-grass- eating savages. Anyone who surrenders will be killed.


11 posted on 05/07/2014 3:21:18 PM PDT by KingLudd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vigilanteman; dfwgator

dfwgator is right. Assad is scum, but he’s not interested in global jihad. His enemies are our enemies. Sadly, his friends are also our enemies.


12 posted on 05/07/2014 3:44:38 PM PDT by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016

And John McCain sheds a tear.


13 posted on 05/07/2014 3:59:02 PM PDT by Count of Monte Fisto (The foundation of modern society is the denial of reality.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998

In other words, Assad is ‘par for the course’ in the Arab world.


14 posted on 05/07/2014 4:05:06 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: rightwingintelligentsia

“Actually, that was Hama. Homs is my mother’s hometown, and has a large Christian population. “

Yes, it was Hama, and I also remember it. Assad Sr. simply leveled it. No doubt junior took notes.

But given your background, you are really good to have here. So what’s your take on all this? Given your statement, and that you’re on this site, I assume you’re Christian.


15 posted on 05/07/2014 4:10:06 PM PDT by BobL
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine

The “rebels” are far more vicious. Let’s not forget they were the ones overrunning Christian villages, then raped and beheaded small children. Granted, the Assad regime is no doubt thuggish, but the Obama-supported al-Qaeda terrorists are far, far worse. So yes... this is indeed a good thing, and those jihadi apes should be rounded up and their own heads should be set upon pikes on the road to Damascus.


16 posted on 05/07/2014 4:10:56 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Obama is so far in over his head, even his ears are beneath the water level.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: vladimir998

“Sadly, his friends are also our enemies.”

While that’s true, he’s what passes for “moderate” in that toilet-bowl part of the world. Every other option is a worse one.


17 posted on 05/07/2014 4:14:13 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Obama is so far in over his head, even his ears are beneath the water level.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: PaulCruz2016; Travis McGee; LS; Kristin

It’s worth pointing out that the Al Qaeda rebels evacuating Homs, Syria are being sent to...

...the Ukraine.

Yup, to kill Russians for 0bama.


18 posted on 05/07/2014 4:16:07 PM PDT by Southack (The one thing preppers need from the 1st World? http://tinyurl.com/ktfwljc .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

Touche!


19 posted on 05/07/2014 4:16:58 PM PDT by vladimir998
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

^^ for you ^^


20 posted on 05/07/2014 4:17:01 PM PDT by Southack (The one thing preppers need from the 1st World? http://tinyurl.com/ktfwljc .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson