U.N. aid workers have faced heavy machine gun fire, sniper bullets and intense mortar fire for the second straight day in a row as they struggle to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Syrian city of Homs.
Thus far four aid workers were wounded (one severely) on Saturday when a convoy from the U.N. and the Syrian Red Crescent was attacked by rebel factions determined to undermine humanitarian aid efforts, but U.N. officials have said they will not be deterred.
One officials with the United Nations, who declined to go on record with his name said “The rebels are trying to murder us in the streets.”
Despite attempts by rebels to slaughter them, UN aid workers managed to save several hundred women, children and elderly men were brought out of the Old City in Homs on the third and final day of a supposed ceasefire. Unconfirmed reports suggest the UN used its armored vehicles as shields to get the people out.
In one instance a UN vehicle had over 30 bullet holes riddling the front and side of a land cruiser used to shield and evacuate people. Many of these bullets came from snipers specifically targeting the convoys and the Syrian civilians they tried to evacuate from rebel controlled territory.
In the meantime foreign press reports dealing with this story have curiously omitted the fact that it is the Free Syrian Army and Islamist rebels that are actively undermining the UN aid effort.
They also fail to mention the heroic actions of the Syrian army soldiers and commandos which has been trying to facilitate the UN aid delivery in every way they can – some at the risk of their very lives.
On Saturday Syrian government forces renewed their assault on the northern city of Aleppo in a frantic attempt to fight back against rebels using the ceasefire to launch attacks and gain back ground lost to government forces.
One Syrian soldier, indicated on Syrian TV news channel that the U.S. backed rebels are using Syrian civilians in Homs and Aleppo as “human shields”, in some cases strapping explosives to their bodies and placing them in windows and doorways. They are also forcing civilians, mostly children to carry ammo and supplies for the rebels factions – under threat of death.
When not murdering Syrian civilians and killing Syrian Army troops the rebels are busy killing each other.
Heavy fighting was being reported in the eastern province of Deir Ez-zor after the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and another group, Ahrar al-Sham, attacked the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
At least 20 people were killed in pitched battles…
See related report: Syria conflict: Homs aid convoy comes under fire – BBC Newshttp://topbreakingnews.info/syria-conflict-homs-aid-convoy-comes-under-fire-bbc-news/