Homs destroyed: Russian drone footage shows devastation in Syria

Footage has been released appearing to show very clear footage of the destruction in the Syrian town of Homs, which has been left devastated by years of war.

Once nicknamed the “cradle of the revolution” and home to more than 600,000 people, the footage shows children walking through deserted streets lined with bombed-out homes.

The footage was captured by Russia Works, a drone-filming company owned by the Russian state broadcaster, VGTRK. The drone was operated by a cameraman from the service. 

On its YouTube link, camera operator Alexander Pushin said the area was destroyed by "radical Islamists and foreign mercenaries".

Homs was previously Syria’s third-largest city, but in an attempt to counter the growing revolution, government forces imposed a siege that lasted from May 2011 until May 2014, when a ceasefire agreement saw the last 1,000 rebel fighters withdraw from the city.

Russia, which is engaged in a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad, is now known to operate at least one airbase near Homs, and activists accuse Russian forces of hitting civilian targets in the area.