Syrian regime Salafists protesters, beat a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad with shoes during a protest in Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday. — AP BEIRUT — Red Cross teams began handing out food and blankets in central Homs province Sunday after days of delays, helping families who fled the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr and took shelter in nearby villages. Government forces have blocked humanitarian access to Baba Amr since Friday, the day after troops seized it from rebels, and it remained blocked on Sunday. Opposition fighters had been in control of the neighborhood for several months, and a regime offensive on Homs that began in early February aimed to retake rebel-held neighborhoods inside the city. Government forces managed to retake Baba Amr after nearly a month of intense and relentless shelling and activists say hundreds were killed in the daily bombardments that led up to the final battle Thursday. Some Baba Amr residents died when, in desperation, they dared to venture out of their homes to forage for food. Activists have said residents face a humanitarian catastrophe in Baba Amr and other parts of Homs. Electricity, water and communications have been cut off in frigid temperatures; food was running low and many are too scared to venture out. As the brutal siege of Homs dragged on, Western pressure on President Bashar Assad intensified. The US has called for Assad to step down and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said he could be considered a war criminal. Syrian activists said more than a dozen artillery shells struck the town of Rastan, near Homs, killing at least seven people and wounding others. Syrian activists also reported clashes between rebel fighters and government troops in the northern Idlib province. Also Sunday, Syrian ally China offered a proposal to end the violence, calling for an immediate cease-fire and talks by all parties. But it stood firm in its opposition to foreign intervention. The proposal, posted on the Foreign Ministry's website, describes the situation in Syria as “grave” and calls for an immediate end to all violence as well as humanitarian relief and negotiations mediated by the UN and the Arab League. But it rejects outside interference, sanctions and attempts at regime change.
