From Akram, the chief Syria correspondent for this blog: "The armed groups (call them FSA, rebels, fighters for freedom, gangs...) play a dangerous game: holding up in residential neighborhoods and waiting for the attack of the governmental forces. We've seen this game before in many Syrian cities and towns, and Baba Amer (the city of Homs) and Douma (Rural Damascus) are the most notorious examples. The tactic used by the Syrian regime is too simple and too criminal: leveling any built-up area controlled by the rebels. The results are nasty: The important is the elevated number of civilian casualties, while the most serious one is the displacement of a large number of residents, a long term displacement given the long period required before the destroyed neighborhoods are reconstructed.
It's the turn of Damascus now. Al-Tadamon, Nahr Aisheh, Al-yarmouk refugee camp, Al-Meedan, Kafar Sousseh and Al-Kaboun, poor and overpopulated quarters, are, in this very moment, exposed to a similar fate, thanks to the two confronting gangs who, seemingly, don't give a shit. However, this time, it's dangerous more than ever given the large number of the city residents (approx. 2 millions) and the fact that Damascus is the last refuge for the Syrian fleeing the fighting.
These days, many Damascenes fear their neighborhoods would be "another Baba Amer":
It's the turn of Damascus now. Al-Tadamon, Nahr Aisheh, Al-yarmouk refugee camp, Al-Meedan, Kafar Sousseh and Al-Kaboun, poor and overpopulated quarters, are, in this very moment, exposed to a similar fate, thanks to the two confronting gangs who, seemingly, don't give a shit. However, this time, it's dangerous more than ever given the large number of the city residents (approx. 2 millions) and the fact that Damascus is the last refuge for the Syrian fleeing the fighting.
These days, many Damascenes fear their neighborhoods would be "another Baba Amer":
Omar, who lives in one of the Palestinian camps, said he feared parts of Damascus might be put through the same experience as the Baba Amr district of Homs or the towns of Douma or Zabadani, where army shelling to root out opposition fighters caused massive devastation before they beat a tactical retreat."
