Syrian rebels retreating from besieged district

Syrian rebels said they were making a "tactical retreat" today from a besieged district in opposition stronghold of Homs following a punishing, month-long military assault.

They said they were running out of weapons and humanitarian conditions were catastrophic.

As the offensive on the central city of Homs intensified, Syria's main opposition group formed a military council to organise the armed resistance and funnel weapons to rebels, a sign of how deeply militarised the conflict has become over the past year as Syria veers closer to a civil war.

A Syrian official said yesterday the government was planning a major offensive to "cleanse" the rebel-held Baba Amr district of Homs once and for all as activists reported troops massing outside the neighbourhood in western Homs.

The Baba Amr rebels brigade said they were pulling out to spare some 4,000 civilians who insisted on staying in their homes.

They said the decision was based on "worsening humanitarian conditions, lack of food and medicine and water, electricity and communication cuts as well as shortages in weapons."

Homs is Syria's third-largest city with about 1 million people. Before the revolt began, activists estimated 100,000 people lived in Baba Amr. But many have fled over the past year and the population is believed to be much reduced.

The siege of Baba Amr has been among the deadliest of the uprising. Rebels had held the area for several months, but in early February, regime forces surrounded the neighbourhood and began firing tank shells that slammed into homes and killed hundreds of people.

Many of the wounded could not reach doctors, forcing residents to set up makeshift clinics for crowds of bloodied victims.

The relentless attacks disrupted electricity, Internet and telephone services.

Burhan Ghalioun, head of the opposition Syrian National Council, told a news conference in Paris that rebels have relocated from some areas but said the resistance in Baba Amr "is still strong." It was not immediately clear what escape route the rebels used.

Before the retreat was announced, Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said there was "fierce fighting" at the entrances to Baba Amr and troops have been unable to enter so far.

Syrian activists said government forces had cut off communications to Baba Amr, jamming satellite phone signals as they mass for an apparent ground assault. The neighbourhood has been under siege for about four weeks and hundreds have died in shelling.

Authorities had previously blocked land and mobile phone lines, but activists were able to communicate with the outside world with satellite phones.

The activist Revolutionary Council of Homs said it could no longer reach anyone inside Baba Amr. All satellite signals were jammed, it said.

Ghalioun laid out the plans for a military council to organise and unify all armed resistance to Assad's regime.

The Paris-based leadership of the Syrian National Council said its plan was coordinated with the most potent armed opposition force, the Free Syrian Army, made up mainly of army defectors.