HTS tank attacking a position of the SAA in the northern Homs countryside, Illustrative image
On May 2, several armed groups in the Rastan pocket in northern Homs rejected the evacuation agreement which had been reached after a long negotiation between Russia and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), according to Syrian oppositions sources.
In an attempt to sabotage the agreement, the militants shelled the civilian district of Wadi al-Dahab in the city of Homs with more than six Grad rockets. Syrian pro-government sources claimed that several civilians had been injured in the shelling.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Russian Aerospace Forces have not respond to the rocket attack yet. According to local observers, Russia and the Damascus government will likely give the FSA a second chance to respect and to implement the agreement before responding to the attack.
The evacuation agreement that was reached earlier should allow all the militants who don’t want to reconcile with the Damascus government to withdraw towards the Idlib governorate or the Turkish-held city of Jarabulus. The militants will also surrender all of their weapons under the agreement that will be overseed by the Russian Military Police.
If the FSA does not implement the evacuation agreement, a large-scale military operation led by the elite Tiger Force and backed by the Russian Aerospace Forces will begin, according to Syrian pro-government activists.
