Civilians celebrate liberation of Homs city inside newly captured Al-Waer suburb

YemenExtra

M.A.

On Thursday, a series of celebrations took place in the Al-Waer neighborhood after rebel militants departed from their last bastion in the provincial capital of Homs last month.

Photos taken by Syrian state media depict local residents returning to the Al-Waer suburb while the governor of Homs, Talal Al-Barazi, planted a symbolic tree of victory and provided gifts to previously displaced children:

With 35 of 36 neighborhoods brought under government control back in 2014, several thousand militants in the Al-Waer district held out against a siege until earlier this year when a deal was broken between the warring parties.