Video: Syria: desperate Homs residents collect snow to drink as water is cut off Homs has been under siege for months as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tries to crush a rebellion that has engulfed his country for almost a year. Citizens inside the city have been suffering as first food and now water is becoming scarce. Amateur video posted online purports to show a large group of people in a street in Homs with bowls at their feet to catch the falling snow. The weather has slowed down the military assault but conditions for civilians are dire, activists said.