A striking video shot by a drone over the Syrian city of Homs shows the horrifying wreckage left after years of civil war.
Homs, once a city of more than 1 million, is shown mortared and shelled into oblivion, with few signs of life in the areas that were filmed. The footage was taken by a group called Russia Works, whose founder, Alexandr Pushin, has ties to the Kremlin and Russian state television.
Homs once was Syria's third-largest city. It has hosted clashes between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebel groups since 2011. The last rebel pocket left the city late last year under a cease-fire agreement the United Nations said had "great value" toward a possible truce.
Destruction shown in the video is mind-boggling. As Mashable notes, aside from a white car and a glimpse of several kids, the video suggests there are few humans left in the city. Thousands have been killed since fighting began and many others have fled. ISIS has been expanding toward the city over the past months.
A video that leans toward propaganda was released by Russia Works in October, which shows pro-Assad forces destroying a suburb in the capital of Damascus thought to contain rebel forces. The Russian government has long supported the Assad regime and has ramped up airstrikes throughout Syria in recent months.
Take a look at the video footage above.
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