Homs has been a key battleground between government forces and rebels, with large parts of the city in ruins.
More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which started when protests against his rule erupted in March 2011, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world. Demonstrations were put down by force and the uprising became an armed insurgency which now pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels and foreign jihadis against forces loyal to Assad, who is from Syria's Alawite minority - an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.