Homs, known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,644 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast.
Al-Mukharram, also known as Mukharram al-Fawqani is a small city in central Syria, capital of the al-Mukharram District, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 42 kilometres northeast of Homs.
Abil is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 10 kilometers south of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Nuqayrah and Kafr Aya to the north, Maskanah to the northeast, Judaydat al-Sharqiyah to the east, Shinshar to the southeast, Damina al-Sharqiyah to the south, al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah to the southwest and Qattinah to the west. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Abil had a population of 2,873 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Al-Sukhnah is a town in eastern Syria under the administration of the Homs Governorate, located east of Homs in the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Mayadin and al-Asharah to the east, al-Taybah and Raqqa to the north, Salamiyah to the west, Arak and Tadmur (Palmyra) to the southwest.
Taybeh is an Arabic word meaning 'the Good' and can refer to the following places in the Middle East:
Sharqliyya is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northwest of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Qabu and al-Shinyah to the west, al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah to the northwest, Taldou to the northeast and Ghur Gharbiyah to the east.
Aqrabiyah is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located southwest of Homs and immediately east and north of the border with Lebanon. Nearby localities include Zita al-Gharbiyah to the southeast, the district center of al-Qusayr to the east, Arjoun and al-Houz to the northeast and al-Naim to the north.
Maryamin is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate starting from 2008 after being part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Aqrab, Nisaf and Baarin to the north, Kafr Kamrah and Mashta al-Helu to the west, Shin, al-Shinyah and al-Qabu to the south, and Taldou and Tell Dahab to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Maryamin had a population of 4,174 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.
Baarin is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap roughly 38 kilometers (24 mi) southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Taunah and Awj to the south, Aqrab and Houla to the southeast, Nisaf, Ayn Halaqim and Wadi al-Uyun to the west, Masyaf, Deir Mama and Mahrusah to the north, and Deir al-Fardis and al-Rastan to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Baarin had a population of 5,559 in the 2004 census. Baarin is also the largest locality in the Awj nahiyah ("subdistrict") which comprises thirteen villages with a population of 33,344. The village's inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.
Ayn al-Shams is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Ayn Halaqim, Nisaf and Baarin to the east, and Mashta al-Helu and al-Kafrun to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Ayn al-Shams had a population of 2,327 in the 2004 census.
Awj is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in the Homs Gap southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Aqrab and Tell Dahab to the east, Nisaf and Baarin to the north, Ayn Halaqim to the northwest, and Kafr Kamrah and Rabah to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Awj had a population of 4,222 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.
Qattinah is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located south of Homs. It is situated at the northeastern end of Lake Homs which is also known as "Lake Qattinah." Nearby localities include al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah to the south, Aabel to the east, al-Nuqayrah to the northeast, Tell al-Shur to the north and Khirbet Ghazi to the west on the opposite end of Lake Homs. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Qattinah had a population of 6,018 in the 2004 census.
Murayj al-Durr is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northeast of Homs and southeast of Hama, on the eastern bank of the Orontes River. Nearby localities include the district center al-Rastan to the west, Ghor al-Assi to the north, Izz al-Din to the west and al-Zaafaraniyah to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Murayj al-Durr had a population of 295 in the 2004 census, making it one of the smallest localities in the al-Rastan nahiyah ("subdistrict"). Most of its inhabitants are Circassians.
Daminah al-Gharbiyah is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located southwest of Homs. Nearby localities include Qattinah to the northeast, al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah to the east, Daminah al-Sharqiyah to the southeast, al-Dabaah to the south, Arjoun and al-Houz to the southwest and al-Ghassaniyah to the west. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Daminah al-Gharbiyah had a population of 1,012 in the 2004 census.
Al-Dabaah is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located southwest of Homs. Nearby localities include Arjoun to the west, Kafr Mousa and al-Ghassaniyah to the northwest, Daminah al-Gharbiyah to the north, al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah and Daminah al-Sharqiyah to the northeast, Shamsin to the east and Jandar to the southeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Dabaah had a population of 3,129 in the 2004 census.
Buwaydah is a Syrian village located in the Suran Subdistrict in Hama District. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Buwaydah had a population of 486 in the 2004 census.
The Hama and Homs offensive during the Syrian Civil War was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in an attempt to cut the government supply line between its troops in central and northern Syria.
The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam", or "Lavender", was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil town of Al-Sukhnah, and besiege and capture 11,000 square kilometers of ISIL territory in central Syria, after which the Syrian Army would advance towards Deir ez-Zor, and lift the three-year ISIL siege of the government's enclave in the city. Afterwards, the Syrian Army advanced towards the Islamic State's then-capital of Mayadin.
The Northern Homs offensive was launched by the Syrian Armed Forces against the rebel pocket in the northern Homs Governorate and the southern Hama Governorate on 15 April 2018. It came after the defeat of the rebel forces in the final government offensive against rebels in eastern Ghouta. Following negotiations with Syrian and Russian military officials, rebels surrendered the northern Homs pocket on 2 May, and those who refused to stay were fully evacuated on 16 May. Subsequently, the Syrian government regained full control of the area.
