Syria regime targeting Homs residents: Opposition chief

By Ayse Aktas

ANKARA (AA) – The Assad regime has stepped up attacks on civilians in the Al-Waer district of Syria’s western city of Homs with a view to driving them out of the area, a Syrian opposition leader has warned.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), Anas Abdah, head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, claimed that not only had the Assad regime besieged Al-Waer, but was also "threatening local residents to leave the area or face or the consequences".

Comprised of representatives from 20 nations and international organizations, the ISSG held its first meeting last October in Vienna -- which was co-chaired by the U.S. and Russia -- to discuss means of resolving the five-year-old Syria conflict.

The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, which operates from Istanbul, is an umbrella group of anti-Assad opposition groups.

In his letter, Abdah pointed to the recent mass displacement of civilians in Darayya, a Damascus suburb, describing it as "a violation of international law".

Last week, after a four-year siege of Darayya by regime forces, thousands of the area’s civilian residents were evacuated from the area following an agreement between the regime and opposition groups.

Abdah described the mass evacuation as "a dark stain on the conscience of the international community, which stood idly by as the murderous regime emptied the district of its residents".

He added that a similar turn of events in Al-Waer now appeared "highly likely", going on to warn that such a move "would jeopardize international efforts to restart the political process" in Syria.

According to the opposition leader, Al-Waer is home to some 80,000 people, most of whom, he said, had been displaced by the conflict.

He concluded his letter by calling for "immediate and decisive action" by the international community to end "barbaric attacks on civilians" by the Syrian regime.