Defeated Syrian rebels left their shattered stronghold in Homs on Thursday after a bloody 26-day army siege aimed at crushing a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Activists said a few fighters had stayed on in Baba Amro, which has endured weeks of shelling, sniper fire and privation, to cover their comrades' "tactical withdrawal".
Soon afterward, the international Red Cross said Syrian authorities had finally given it permission to take aid into the district on Friday. "The Free Syrian Army and all the other fighters have left Baba Amro," one activist said from Homs. "They pulled out."
A pro-government figure proclaimed that troops had "broken the back" of the rebellion and that the fall of Baba Amro heralded impending victory over a Western-backed insurgency. A statement in the name of the fighters urged the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian groups to enter Baba Amro to protect and bring aid to 4,000 civilians who had stayed in their destroyed houses.
"We warn the regime against any retaliation against civilians and we hold it fully responsible for their safety," the statement said, adding that the rebels had been forced to leave because they were short of supplies and ammunition. The ICRC said it had received a "green light" from the Syrian authorities to enter Baba Amro on Friday. Scattered gunfire could be heard inside Baba Amro and sporadic shelling hit nearby districts, the activists said. The overall level of combat exchanges seemed to have receded.
There was no immediate word on the fate of wounded French reporter Edith Bouvier and French photographer William Daniels, who had been among a group of journalists trapped in Baba Amro. Two of these, American correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik, were killed there in a bombardment a week ago. Two others later escaped into Lebanon.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Homs in the past month, activists say. Many of the wounded have received only rudimentary treatment in makeshift field hospitals. Britain said on Thursday it had withdrawn its diplomats from Damascus. Switzerland closed its embassy. But the 46-year-old Syrian leader still has some allies.
Russia, China and Cuba voted against a resolution adopted overwhelmingly on Thursday by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council which condemned Syria for violations that it said may amount to crimes against humanity. A Lebanese official close to Damascus said Assad's government was determined to regain control of Homs, Syria's third city, which straddles the main north-south highway.
Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League envoy on Syria, has said he plans to visit Damascus soon to press for a halt to the violence and better access for humanitarian groups. Russia, which along with China, has shielded Syria from UN Security Council action, is emerging as a pivotal player in diplomacy over the Syrian crisis.
Moscow has invited Annan for talks on Syria and, according to Kuwaiti officials, will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to meet his Gulf Arab counterparts in Riyadh next week. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have led calls for the world to arm Syrian rebels following last month's Russian-Chinese veto of a draft Security Council resolution critical of Syria.