Syrian government forces have taken control of the Homs' neighborhood of Baba Amr after opposition fighters fled the district under the same constant bombardment that activists said killed hundreds of people since early February.
The government announced it has defeated the "armed gangs" and its media aired footages showing what they said were residents relieved by the "cleansing" of the neighborhood from these groups.
Both the brutal military assault by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad on a residential area and the subsequent withdrawal of the armed opposition mark a new phase in the conflict.
