The Assad regime stepped up its military offensive in Homs in February 2012, leaving hundreds dead as they emptied one neighborhood after another. By June, the military had sealed off central Homs with trenches, barricades and checkpoints, trapping an estimated 3,000 civilians and 4,000 rebels.

Lt. Haidar — field officer in the Syrian army

Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal A 28-year-old lieutenant in the Syrian army’s 4th Division was a field officer in the Homs operations. He agreed to an interview during the siege but gave his name only as Lt. Haidar. He said Syria’s early demonstrations were taken over by violent Islamist extremists.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Scroll A Homs neighborhood that was bombed and emptied of residents. What remained was looted. Carole Alfarah for The Wall Street Journal A Homs neighborhood that was bombed and emptied of residents. What remained was looted. Scroll Lt. Haidar stands by one of the trenches dug by his unit to keep people trapped inside old Homs. Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal Lt. Haidar stands by one of the trenches dug by his unit to keep people trapped inside old Homs.

Lt. Haidar said many Syrians at first believed the demonstrations would bring improvements. But the onset of violence changed many minds: People realized that extremists including Islamic State “mean the destruction of the country. No freedom. Those who used to demand freedom would now behead a child just for a word he said. Where’s the freedom in all this?” Lt. Haidar discussing the siege. Syria Shattered Part 1 Inside the Battle for Homs, Syria Part 2 Life Under Siege Part 3 Escape From Homs Among the predominantly Alawite neighborhoods spared from destruction was the street where the al-Ahmad family live. Like most Alawites, they rallied around the Assad regime. Family members said the bloodshed and kidnappings have erased trust among neighbors of different faiths. The killing of children has been the most difficult to accept, they said. Their own children belong to a younger generation of Syrians who have only known war.

Pledging Allegiance to Assad

Your browser does not support the audio element. Scroll Jaafar al-Ahmad, 11 years old, in a shirt with the image of the president. His father, a pro-regime militiaman has been missing for two years. Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal Jaafar al-Ahmad, 11 years old, in a shirt with the image of the president. His father, a pro-regime militiaman has been missing for two years. Scroll His brother Hadi, who is 5, does not remember a time before the war. Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal His brother Hadi, who is 5, does not remember a time before the war. Scroll Javascript is required to view this video. Please enable javascript.

Trapped Inside Homs

In sealed-off neighborhoods of Homs, food deliveries stopped and electricity was cut. Wheat and flour supplies shrank over 18 months. When it was gone, residents began scavenging.

Abu Suleiman Abarra — bicycle repairman, anti-regime activist

Jarrard Cole/The Wall Street Journal “We would go to houses that were ruined and destroyed. We would go into kitchens and get rice or whatever we could find. After a while, we didn’t have much food left. We would look under the rubble for food that rats and mice were feeding on. After that, we started eating rotten food…” “One day I ground up plants to make bread. Can you believe it? It wasn’t edible. My wife used to cook for the wounded—10 people then eight, five, one and then there was no more food. We started cooking lemon leaves. Some people died from hunger. A lot of people were poisoned from plants they found.”

Mr. Abarra's wife

Carole Alfarah for The Wall Street Journal “We had to make up recipes we couldn’t have imagined: lemon and vine leaves cooked with flour and spices over a wood fire. We would mix thyme with oil and eat it with a spoon. We would cook olives with spices and molasses…we ate cracked wheat that had rat feces. It would take me hours to clean it and it gave me stomach aches. God only knows how we ate such food.”

A pot sits empty in the house Mr. Abarra left behind in Homs, Syria, June 16, 2014 Carole Alfarah for The Wall Street Journal