By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON D.C.
The Obama administration strongly condemned a Syrian government offensive on Friday that has ignited intense clashes with rebel groups in the besieged city of Homs.
Damascus launched the advance to retake remaining rebel-held areas in the central Syrian city on Tuesday.
The advance ended a tenuous ceasefire in the city brokered in February between rebels and the government as a result of the first round of Geneva peace talks.
“We strongly condemn the regime's breaking of the cessation of hostilities,” said Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman. “The regime's bombardment and encirclement of the city is a despicable example of its starve-and-surrender battlefield approach.”
The administration is “deeply concerned by the dire and tragic situation in Homs,” Psaki said.
As the government advanced in Homs, a car bomb exploded outside the Bilal al Habshi mosque in central Syria after Friday prayers killing 14 people, according to state-run Syrian television. The area is home to a predominantly Alawite community, the sect of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.
Tallies of those killed in Syria’s three-year long conflict vary. The UN stopped updating its tally after an official count became too difficult to ascertain. Its last reported toll was at least 100,000.
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