The rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr has been under intense shelling for weeks now. The neighborhood in the central city of Homs has become the epicenter of the rebellion, surpassing even the southern city of Daraa where the uprising began two-weeks shy of a year ago. Despite all manners of outrage from the outside world, the Syrian government has continued its relentless assault even while state media celebrates the alleged reforms that have been passed.
Now the government looks to be ready for what seemed to be inevitable.
The rebel-held district of Baba Amr has suffered hundreds of deaths and untold numbers of injuries since the shelling began. The rebels are low on ammo, the civilians are low on supplies, and those who have not already escaped are reportedly trapped inside. The government promises to cleanse the neighborhood and troops are amassing outside of Baba Amr.
The scope of the carnage that has already been committed is impossible to accurately estimate. The extent of the brutality to come is even harder to predict. What is clear is that the Syrian government appears intent on crushing this rebellion before it enters its second-year in just two weeks.
Unlike Daraa in the south where the rebellion was born, or Hama where a massive bombing campaign crushed the opposition to Bashar al-Assad's father, Homs is a city that resembles Syria. It is mostly Sunni but has Alawites and Christians. If Homs is a microcosm of Syria, then what is about to happen could be a predictor of what the second-year of the rebellion holds.