Syria asks international aid for citizens trapped in Homs

Syria urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to dispatch humanitarian aid to the Syrian citizens trapped by Takfiri armed groups in the Western city of Homs. Syrian Foreign Ministry said Damascus formally requested the Geneva-based humanitarian body to assist the citizens who have been used as human shields by the foreign-backed Takfiri extremists in the city. The Syrian ministry also asked the Red Cross to help safely evacuate the trapped citizens from the areas controlled by armed groups in Homs, Alalam reported. “Syria stresses that the efforts of the armed forces for restoring security and stability to the homeland and enabling citizens to return to their homes are completely consistent with their national responsibilities and are part of the Syrian government’s commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry stated. The Syrian government is trying its best “to ensure the safety of civilians and meet their needs all over Syria”, the statement added. The Syrian government further denounced the United States and its allies as “complicit in conspiring against Syria and shedding the Syrians’ blood”. Foreign-sponsored militancy has taken its toll on the lives of many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, since March 2011. Syria crisis started in 2011 when pro-reform protests turned to a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states. The unrest which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and the Middle-East is going to become one of the bloodiest wars in the recent history. The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken thousands of lives. Several international human rights organizations have said that the militants operating in Syria are committing war crimes. In an interview with Syrian daily Al-Thawra published on July 4, President Bashar al-Assad said the opposition and their foreign supporters have “exhausted all their tools” in a conspiracy against Syria. On July 1, Syria’s Local Administration Minister Omar al-Ibrahim Ghalaounji said that foreign-sponsored terrorism in the country damaged about 9,000 state buildings and cost $15bln in losses to the public sector between March 2011 and March 2013.