Syrian troops and pro-regime militiamen battled their way into rebel-held neighbourhoods of the central city of Homs on Tuesday after besieging them for nearly two years.
Syrian state television reported that the army and the pro-regime militia National Defence Forces (NDF) “have achieved key successes in the Old City of Homs”.Troops were advancing in several neighbourhoods and had “killed a number of terrorists.”
The assault on Homs comes a day after the army recaptured the Christian town of Maalula in the strategic Qalamun region and as state media reported the country would soon move into election mode.
It follows a UN operation to evacuate some 1,400 people trapped inside army-besieged neighbourhoods of Homs in February.
Around 1,300 people, mostly fighters, remained behind.
