Reporting from the historic city, Al-Alam’s correspondent affirms the extent of damages and losses inflicted on city buildings, businesses and the people’s properties, many of which, including mosques and churches, have been burned by the insurgents.

The historic Church of Oum al-Zennar is among the city structures that have been severely damaged, along with a number of area mosques which have been left in ruins.

Speaking with Al-Alam, Issam al-Masri, a city resident and director of Homs Endowment Department, said the damages inflicted on the city’s mosques reflect the dark and terrorist mindset of the armed insurgents.

He further added that on his way back to the city from the Hama road, he noticed that not even one mosque was left untouched by the terrorist and “every single mosque, even the city’s main and historic mosque, were either left in ruins or burned in fire.”

A-Masri then said, I want the people of Homs and rational individuals to pay due attention to this issue that this “dark, Wahhabi thinking” has caused us to face this condition today.

According to the Al-Alam reporter, following the purging of the city and defusing mine fields planted by the armed insurgents, a growing number of city residents are heading back to their homes and shops.

This is while government efforts to rebuild public facilities and the city’s infrastructures are already underway.

Meanwhile, Homs Governor Talal al-Barazi told Al-Alam reporter that the joy expressed by the returning residents of the city is “a very beautiful scene” with people shedding tear of joy after coming back to their homes and remembering sweet memories of the past.

He further emphasized that this expression of joy as well as sorrow over the ruins left by the terrorists should serve as an initiative to rebuild and develop, “and it is our duty now to facilitate the return of the residents by providing services and immediate needs of the people.”

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