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Showing posts with label Homs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homs. Show all posts

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Syrian government army and militia on the fringes of Al Qaryatayn

Syrian Army Takes Control Over Christian Town Al-Qaryatayn in Homs

© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy
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Syrian government forces have gained control over a Christian town in the province of Homs, Al-Qaryatayn. Meanwhile, the fighting is ongoing in the western suburbs of the town, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Sunday.

A bomb squad has begun to work in the town, according to RIA Novosti. Militants have tried to mine roads and buildings in Al-Qaryatayn.
According to Syrian military, 80 percent of the town is controlled by government forces. Militants continue to retreat in off-road vehicles to the north side of the mountains. Syrian army is deploying military hardware to the town.
Earlier in the day, the Syrian army supported by popular defense groups started an offensive on the main stronghold of Daesh in the town of Al-Qaryatayn in Syria's Homs province.
Some of the terrorist armed groups tried to flee from the town to the nearby mountains.

The operation to liberate the Christian town of Al-Qaryatayn from Daesh militants began on Saturday morning. Covered by artillery fire, vanguard units of the army and its allies began an assault from the south, southeastern and northwestern directions, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
The Christian town was seized by Daesh terrorists in August 2015. Terrorists turned it into their main stronghold in southern Homs. From Al-Qaryatayn, militants moved reinforcements and ammunition to Palmyra to fight against government forces.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Humus Cami

Syria's Third Largest City of Homs Arising From the Ashes of War

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The violent uprising, which has plagued Syria for five years, has dealt major damage to Homs, one of the oldest cities in the country, but hope for local cultural heritage is not lost as restoration work is already underway, Hüssam Hamis, who heads a major museum in Homs, told Sputnik.

The city "is home to roughly 62 historic sites, including monuments, restaurants, villas, hotels, bazaars, the old market, mosques, churches," Hamis explained. "The city has seen intense fighting, but in general it has not been damaged as much as we previously thought. Some buildings were severely damaged, others were burned, but the majority of them could be restored."

The Khalid ibn al-Walid and Qasr al-Zahrawi mosques are one of the first monuments on this list. Other historic buildings are expected to be restored later this year. Local authorities are trying to involve international organizations to speed up and expand the process.
A monument could be rebuilt if its foundation and loadbearing structures have remained intact. The more damaged they are, the harder it is to restore the building. If a building's foundation was blown up, it is nearly impossible to repair it.
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Khalid bin al Walid Mosque and the city in the early 1900s and now.

​"The majority of historic monuments in Homs have a solid foundation, meaning they can be restored," Hamis noted.
The city of Homs returned under government control in December 2015 following a local ceasefire agreement between Damascus and the militants. A number of similar deals have been inked recently, raising hope that a nation-wide ceasefire would soon be reached.