Relentlessly bombed, Homs is now nearly completely cut off

For the tenth day straight, the flashpoint city of Homs is the target of intense bombing by the Syrian army. Due to frequent electricity outages and severed Internet connections, it is becoming harder and harder to obtain images of what’s happening on the ground.

At least six people were killed just on Tuesday in Homs, according to activists. Of our numerous Observers in the city, Omar is the only one we were able to contact today, thanks to his satellite connection.

Hom's Baba Amr neighbourhood being bombed Tuesday morning.

"Internet is cut off, but we're able to use a satellite connection"

Omar Shakir is an activist in Baba Amr, one of the neighbourhoods of Homs being targeted by the army.

The bombings began at 6 a.m. this morning. They have continued at a rhythm of about two explosions per minute. Armoured vehicles are patrolling the streets; some of them have blocked the entrances to the neighbourhood to prevent ambulances from reaching us. We regularly hear helicopters and military planes flying overhead. This is the worst day since the beginning of the army’s attack

Houses being bombed in Baba Amr, one of the worst-hit neighbourhoods in the city.

Usually, there are about ten activists who film what’s going on in Baba Amr [and share the videos with international news outlets], but four of them have been injured. The remaining six still venture out into the streets, but it’s very risky because bombs are landing everywhere.

For the past ten days, the Internet has been cut off in Homs. My friends and I are using a satellite connection, which we have access to thanks to a device we smuggled in from Lebanon. Only about twenty of us in Baba Amr can currently access the Internet thanks to this connection. We’re doing our best to stay connected to the outside world and upload videos of what’s going on here, but we can’t put up as many videos as we used to.

Telephone networks – for both landlines and mobiles – are down. As for electricity, it only works intermittently; however, we’ve got a few generators to keep us afloat.”