Homs

When the opposition reached the outskirts of the city of Homs, Hajjo, fearing the main road to Damascus would be cut, pulled the plug.

Ahmad fled the city of Homs and chose to come to the UK "because he believed in the values of human rights, safety, and dignity", his family said.

On Wednesday night, Israel bombed several military targets in Syria, including two airports – Hama military airport and the T4 base near Homs.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, has since said more than 1,400 civilians were killed in Latakia and its neighbouring provinces Tartous, Hama and Homs.

A war monitoring group says that more than 1,400 civilians have been killed since 6 March - most of them Alawites - in Latakia and the neighbouring provinces of Tartous, Hama and Homs.