Valerie Amos's Visit to Homs Is About More than Humanitarian Aid

The situation in the battered Syrian region of Baba Amr is either a massacre or a massive cleanup effort, depending on whom you ask about it, which is why all eyes are on United Nations Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos as she visits to Homs Wednesday.

The situation in the battered Syrian region of Baba Amr is either a massacre or a massive cleanup effort, depending on whom you ask about it, which is why all eyes are on United Nations Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos as she visits to Homs Wednesday. According to the BBC, Amos's mission is to "urge all sides to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so they can evacuate the wounded and deliver essential supplies."

But what we're waiting to see is if Amos is allowed to visit Baba Amr at all and her description of what's happening there. Assad's forces have blocked The Red Cross access to Baba Amr since Friday, fueling all kinds speculation about what could be going on there. The Los Angeles Times reports that Assad's forces have claimed that there's still a safety issue in the area and that the Syrian army is defusing explosives, cleaning up and de-mining the area, but that's a bit hard to swallow considering Assad's track record when it comes to honesty. Refugees say that the Assad's "cleanup" involves slaughtering the civilians left behind.  The Guardian reports that Amos has wrapped her visit to Damascus and is en route to Homs at the moment.