Syrian Government Regains Control of Homs

Syrian government forces have regained complete control of the city of Homs following the final evacuation of rebel fighters and their families to northern Syria on Saturday, reports the BBC.

Nearly 3,000 people, believed to consist of around 700 fighters accompanied by their families, boarded buses to transport them out of the al-Wair district of Homs, according to government officials.

“The city of Homs is completely clear of weapons and militants,” provincial governor Talal Barazi said.

Most of those evacuated were bused to the rebel-held areas of Idlib province in the north-west, while some were heading to Jarablus, an area in northern Syria controlled by Turkish-backed rebels.

It brings to a close the years of brutal sieges and bombardments suffered by Homs residents after government forces were driven out of the city following the Syrian uprising in 2011.

More Than 20 Killed in ISIS Attack on Rebel Headquarters

The so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on the headquarters of an Islamist group that resulted in the deaths of more than 20 rebel fighters in Idlib province on Sunday.

Two blasts hit the Ahrar al-Sham base in a village east of Saraqeb in Idlib province after a lone attacker drove a motorbike up to the building, detonating explosives attached to himself and the bike, killing and wounding dozens of rebels, according to a statement released by Ahrar al-Sham.

Al Jazeera reported details of the incident, citing the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Photos on social media, which not could be immediately verified, showed bodies and a burnt-out motorbike outside a small building in Saraqeb. The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq online news service.

U.S. Ambassador Haley Promises Support for Syrian Refugees

U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has pledged to continue American support for Syrian refugees.

Haley spoke during a visit to the sprawling Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on Sunday, reports the Associated Press.

While inspecting an iris-scanning device designed to cut fraud among refugees receiving food supplies, Haley said: “We’re the No. 1 donor here through this crisis. That’s not going to stop. We’re not going to stop funding this. The fact that I’m here shows we want to see what else needs to be done.”

Haley’s comments are in direct contrast to those of U.S. president Donald Trump, who has called Syrian refugees a national security threat, and whose travel ban, eventually overturned by U.S. courts, included Syria in its list of seven proscribed countries. The number of Syrian refugees allowed into the U.S. has dropped from 5,422 in the four months before Trump’s inauguration to 1,566 in the four months since.

Recommended Reading

• Foreign Policy: Syria Has Effectively Ceased to Exist
  
• UNHCR: Searching for Syria? Google and UNHCR Offer Answers to Five Top Questions
• The Atlantic: The Scramble for Post-ISIS Syria Has Officially Begun
• The Washington Post: How Trump Could Deal a Blow to Iran – and Help Save Syria