Returning to Homs

They are coming home to Homs.

Hundreds fill the streets after rebels left the central city as part of a deal with the government.

The Governor declares that the the city is clear of guns and fighters.

But it is a city in shambles.

Homs is considered the cradle of Syrian uprising. Now the rebels are gone. For some, little has been left behind.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMIDIYA RESIDENT, SAHAR AL-NAJJAR, SAYING:

"I could not enter my home through the door. I entered through a hole in the wall. Everything surrounding the house is damaged. The house has only columns."

A church stands in ruins. The courtyard is barren. Icons bare the scars of war.

A Greek Orthodox Bishop yearns for the past.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GREEK ORTHODOX METROPOLITAN BISHOP, GEORGE ABOU ZAKHEM, SAYING:

"If such groups stay in the country, I don't think it will benefit the country. But if they leave the country, the country may get back to how it was."

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