Inside Homs, 'The Blood Is on the Floor'

WORLD -- February 8, 2012 at 2:38 PM EDT

Inside Homs, 'The Blood Is on the Floor'

Reports from the besieged Syrian city of Homs paint a dire picture. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that dozens have died there in the last 24 hours, 14 of them children.

The assault by Syrian government forces came after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime. "Assad is using the veto as a license to unload on the opposition," said Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute.

On Tuesday, the NewsHour spoke with Sami Ibrahim while he was in Homs. He works for a Syrian opposition group and described in detail the frightening increase in violence. Ibrahim also told us what happens when a make-shift hospital comes under fire.

This video shows rockets hitting what appear to be residential buildings, while gunfire crackles through the air. It was posted to YouTube by the Syrian Observatory.

Related Coverage:

All NewsHour coverage of the Arab Spring
An NPR interview with Syrian citizen journalist and blogger Omar Shakir in the Baba Amr section of Homs
An interview with activist Emad Mahou in the southwestern Syrian city Zabadani by PRI's The World

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