Thousands of Syrians return to battered city

HOMS, Syria (AP):Thousands of Syrians streamed into war-battered parts of the central city of Homs for the first time in nearly two years yesterday, many making plans to move back just days after rebels surrendered their strongholds to pro-government forces.

Men, women and children fanned through the city's smashed ancient quarters, some in pickup trucks and bicycles, while most walked on a breezy, sunny day.

A youth band banging drums and holding photographs of president Bashar Assad marched through the area, adding a celebratory mood for those supporting his government amid the three-year-old conflict.

SEARCHING AMONG RUBBLE

Residents scavenged what they could from their homes, mostly clothes, dusty mattresses and some burned gas canisters, carrying them away in plastic bags and trolleys.

Some accused rebels of looting and burning their homes. Smaller crowds made the journey last Friday.

Hundreds of rebels surrendered their stronghold in Homs to government forces in exchange for their safe passage to the nearby northern countryside as part of a deal that began Wednesday.

Some 2,000 rebels — and civilians living there — were badly weakened by the nearly two-year blockade and heavy bombing of the area.

The surrender deal is widely seen as a victory for Assad weeks ahead of a presidential election on June 3 that he is expected to win, giving him a mandate to continue his violent crackdown on rebels in the Syrian civil war, which activists say has killed more than 150,000 people.