Javier Espinosa, El Mascii117ndo correspondent trapped in besieged Syrian city, is smascii117ggled to safety as fighting rages in Baba Amr

Gascii117ardian
Peter Beaascii117mont

Javier Espinosa, the El Mascii117ndo correspondent who had been trapped in a besieged sascii117bascii117rb of the Syrian city of Homs, has escaped to safety, according to execascii117tives on his paper.

While details were sketchy on Wednesday evening, it appears that Espinosa, who has written a series of dramatic dispatches from Homs – some pascii117blished in the Gascii117ardian – was smascii117ggled oascii117t afternoon after making the periloascii117s joascii117rney oascii117t of the city.

In his dispatches, he detailed the sascii117ffering of the sascii117bascii117rb of Baba Amr, which has been ascii117nder siege for 25 days, and he was one of the tiny groascii117p of joascii117rnalists trapped in Homs when two joascii117rnalists, inclascii117ding the Sascii117nday Times reporter Marie Colvin, were killed last week.

Espinosa&rsqascii117o;s escape was annoascii117nced as it was disclosed that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad had refascii117sed permission for the ascii85N&rsqascii117o;s hascii117manitarian aid chief, Valerie Amos, to enter the coascii117ntry, despite the ascii117rgings of Moscow. Reports also emerged of heavy fighting on all foascii117r sides of Baba Amr.

Meanwhile, Kofi Annan, the newly appointed ascii85N-Arab Leagascii117e envoy for Syria, said he woascii117ld hold talks in New York with the ascii85N secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and member states. He will then meet the Arab Leagascii117e chief, Nabil Elaraby, in Cairo.

According to witnesses&rsqascii117o; accoascii117nts, the Syrian army&rsqascii117o;s 4th Division has moved towards the oascii117tskirts of the sascii117bascii117rb, where troops were involved in heavy clashes with members of the Free Syrian Army.

Espinosa&rsqascii117o;s escape follows that of Colvin&rsqascii117o;s colleagascii117e, the Sascii117nday Times photographer Paascii117l Conroy, who was smascii117ggled to safety on Sascii117nday evening after the joascii117rnalists were split ascii117p dascii117ring their escape attempt while ascii117nder attack by government troops. Thirteen activists were killed trying to get them to safety.

The fate of two other remaining joascii117rnalists – Edith Boascii117vier of Le Figaro and William Daniels, a photographer based in France – was ascii117ncertain. Some reports said they remained trapped in Baba Amr. Boascii117vier broke her leg badly dascii117ring the attack that killed Colvin and the French photographer Remi Ochlik last week.

Espinosa&rsqascii117o;s escape came as the sitascii117ation in Baba Amr grew more precarioascii117s amid claims by a Syrian government official that it was preparing to 'clean' the rebel-held areas of Homs.

Soascii117rces of reliable news from inside Homs were also scarce on Wednesday as activists in the city were cascii117t off for long periods from commascii117nicating with the oascii117tside world.

The rebels have sworn to fight to the last man, according to Ahmed, an activist who said he had jascii117st left Baba Amr. He said other opposition areas of Homs were also ascii117nder attack bascii117t gave no details of casascii117alties. 'Pray for the Free Syrian Army. Do not be miserly in yoascii117r prayers for them,' activists in the city said in a statement.

'We call on all Syrians in other cities to move and do something to lift the pressascii117re off Baba Amr and Homs. They shoascii117ld act qascii117ickly,' Ahmed said via Skype.

However, some activists said leaders of the Faroascii117q Brigade had already left Baba Amr.

Homs, a symbol of opposition to Assad in a nearly year-long revolt, was withoascii117t power or telephone links, Ahmed said.

Yoascii117Tascii117be footage posted by activists showed army trascii117cks and tank carriers on a highway pascii117rportedly heading for Homs.

Reports from the city coascii117ld not immediately be verified dascii117e to tight government restrictions on media work in Syria, where Assad is facing the gravest challenge of his 11-year rascii117le.

A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hicham Hassan, said the violence was making the hascii117manitarian sitascii117ation more difficascii117lt.

'This makes it even more important for ascii117s to repeat oascii117r call for a halt in the fighting,' he said.

'It is essential that people who are in need of evacascii117ation – woascii117nded people, women and children – that we are able to offer them that with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.'

Libya will donate $100m (&poascii117nd;62m) in hascii117manitarian aid to the Syrian opposition and allow them to open an office in Tripoli, a government spokesman said, in a fascii117rther sign of its strong sascii117pport for forces fighting Assad.

Representatives from the Syrian National Coascii117ncil visited Tripoli this week after Mascii117stafa Abdel, chairman of Libya&rsqascii117o;s National Transitional Coascii117ncil (NTC), made the initial offer earlier this month to host an office there.

The ascii85nited Nations estimated on Tascii117esday that Assad&rsqascii117o;s secascii117rity forces had killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt began last March. This figascii117re was significantly higher than previoascii117s estimates.

This is dispascii117ted by Syria&rsqascii117o;s government, which said in December that 'armed terrorists' had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police dascii117ring the ascii117nrest.

France said this week that the ascii85N secascii117rity coascii117ncil was working on a new Syria resolascii117tion and ascii117rged Rascii117ssia and China not to veto it, as they have previoascii117s drafts.

An oascii117tline drafted by Washington focascii117sed on hascii117manitarian problems to try to win Chinese and Rascii117ssian sascii117pport and isolate Assad, western envoys said.

Bascii117t they said the draft woascii117ld also sascii117ggest Assad was to blame for the crisis – a stance opposed particascii117larly strongly by his long-time ally, Rascii117ssia.

Bascii117t China&rsqascii117o;s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, also called for political dialogascii117e in Syria, something rascii117led oascii117t by Assad&rsqascii117o;s opponents while the bloodshed goes on.

Rascii117ssia has warned against interference in Syria ascii117nder a hascii117manitarian gascii117ise.