2012 Homs offensive

The 2012 Homs offensive was a Syrian Army offensive in early February 2012 on the armed rebellion stronghold of Homs. The offensive occurred within the scope of the Siege of Homs and ended with an U.N. brokered ceasefire on 14 April 2012.

The offensive began by artillery bombardment by the Syrian armed forces in response to an attack by the Free Syrian Army on Syrian Army checkpoints on 3 February 2012, killing 10 soldiers. Government forces then began to bombard the city using tanks, helicopters, and artillery, rockets and mortars. The Syrian government has denied that the bombardment is indiscriminate and blamed "armed groups" for the civilian deaths, including the deaths of foreign journalists.

Heavy shelling continued on 29 February, as the Syrian armed forces launched a ground operation to restore control of the Baba Amr neighbourhood. The Syrian government announced that the army was being sent into the area and were "cleaning" it from rebel fighters, and that the operation would be over in a matter of hours. At this stage, water supplies, electricity and communications were entirely cut off in the Baba Amr district according to opposition activists. Heavy clashes continued throughout the day, as the Syrian Army's 4th Armoured Division sent in tanks and infantry. Baba Amr was finally secured by the Syrian army on the morning of 1 March, as rebel forces claimed they had made a "tactical retreat" from the area, after running low on weapons and ammunition.

Following the killing of 10 Syrian Army soldiers at a checkpoint and the capture of another 19 soldiers by the Free Syrian Army, government forces began an artillery bombardment of the city of Homs on the night of 3 February 2012.

The bombardment began on the 30th anniversary of the Hama Massacre, a significant event for many Syrians. The Khaldiyeh neighborhood in particular was targeted when the bombardment began on 3 February, and opposition activists soon claimed that the initial attack led to over 200 deaths. According to the opposition activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, after more than two hours of shelling, at least 217 were killed in Homs, with 138 of the deaths having occurred in Khaldiya. They later raised their estimate of the death toll to over 260.

Within a few days, the opposition Syrian National Council claimed the death toll had reached 416, and cited residents as saying at least 36 houses with families still inside were totally destroyed. They later revised their toll down to 290 killed in that period, however. According to an Al Arabiya correspondent in Homs, the district hospital was also destroyed. The correspondent claimed that at least 337 people had been killed and that over 1,300 people were injured in the shelling. However, the SNC and Al Arabiya figures were not independently confirmed and several western media outlets (including Reuters, France24, BBC and CNN) reported the death toll at around 200. The Free Syrian Army vowed to fight back with intense operations against the governments' forces and claimed to have destroyed an air intelligence building in Homs. Opposition activists posted many videos depicting burning buildings and dead bodies that they said were filmed in Homs. At least 30 buildings, including a hospital, were said to have been destroyed or severely damaged in the shelling. According to the SOHR, 14 Syrian Army soldiers and five army defectors were also killed in the shelling and fighting in addition to the civilian deaths. The Local Coordination Committees also initially claimed that the death toll was more than 200 people, saying that they were working to confirm the number of deaths. They later revised their figures, confirming only 55 deaths. On 5 February, the LCC stated that they had documented the names of 212 people that had been killed in Homs, but counted only 181 bodies.

At least 300 rockets struck Homs on the morning of 6 February, leading to 15 deaths, with some claiming up to 50 dead, and later 95 dead. The FSA attempted a counter-attack against the government forces, managing to hold them at bay for a short time before they had to fall back. Two rebel fighters were killed in the fighting. The assault continued on 7 February, resulting in at least 19 deaths and 40 injuries as government forces shelled the city and attempted to move into rebel-held areas.

At least 47 people were killed on the morning of 8 February. Tanks were reported moving down the main thoroughfares and were poised to advance into residential areas, according to locals. The Syrian state news agency reported that an oil refinery near Homs was attacked by "armed groups." On 9 February, activists said 110 people were killed in Homs by artillery shelling. Another group of activists reported a toll of 57 dead. On 10 February, five FSA fighters were killed in the continued shelling, including Colonel Ahmed Jumrek, who had defected from the Syrian Army.