Syria Direct: News Update 10-28-2013

* The concentration of civilian homes in Syria most damaged by the war is in Aleppo province, according to a report issued Sunday by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA). Second after Aleppo come the Damascus suburbs, where nearly half of all homes have been destroyed, followed by Homs. The study documents the destruction of nearly 315,000 homes in addition to 300,000 partially destroyed residences.

* Regime forces violated a ceasefire scheduled to start Sunday morning in the Al Waar neighborhood of Homs, as regime tanks continued to shell the besieged neighborhood, reported Zaman al-Wasl Sunday. The failed truce was reported to include the opening of a checkpoint between the neighborhood and the rest of Homs, following three weeks of siege.

Destruction in the besieged al Waar neighborhood. Photo courtesy of al Waar News Network.

* The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), tasked with executing U.N. Resolution 2118 to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal by mid-2014, ended a three-week tour of work in Syria Sunday, reports state news agency SANA. The Commission’s inspectors visited 19 of 23 production sites or storage facilities identified by the Assad regime.

Like Syria Direct on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.