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Syria crisis: Rebels 'leave Homs' under truce | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Syrian rebels have begun evacuating the last area they hold in the city of Homs under a ceasefire deal reached with the government, a monitoring group has said. | |
The deal means the entire city returns to government control. | The deal means the entire city returns to government control. |
Those leaving are due go to areas of Idlib province still in rebel hands. | Those leaving are due go to areas of Idlib province still in rebel hands. |
Homs, in central Syria, was once dubbed the "capital of the revolution" and saw some of the first protests against President Bashar al-Assad, in 2011. | Homs, in central Syria, was once dubbed the "capital of the revolution" and saw some of the first protests against President Bashar al-Assad, in 2011. |
The first bus has left the rebel-held area of Al Waer in Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. | |
About 800 people, including rebel fighters and civilians, are due to leave throughout Wednesday, the observatory said. | |
Under the UN-backed ceasefire, food aid has reached the neighbourhood for the first time in nearly a year. | Under the UN-backed ceasefire, food aid has reached the neighbourhood for the first time in nearly a year. |
Anti-government protests erupted in Homs, Syria's third-largest city, in 2011. | |
Soon, thousands of Homs residents were taking part in demonstrations despite a brutal crackdown by security forces and pro-Assad militiamen that left dozens dead. | Soon, thousands of Homs residents were taking part in demonstrations despite a brutal crackdown by security forces and pro-Assad militiamen that left dozens dead. |
But in 2012 the Syrian military began a major operation to retake the city, bombarding rebel-held areas. | But in 2012 the Syrian military began a major operation to retake the city, bombarding rebel-held areas. |
A significant deal, by Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Homs | |
This very sensitive and significant deal has been reached after more than two years of sporadic negotiations. | |
Under the first phase of the agreement, hundreds of fighters, including those linked to al-Qaeda, will leave the besieged neighbourhood. | |
More moderate groups who have accepted the ceasefire will remain in al-Waer for the moment. | |
Syrian activists criticise such deals as surrenders forced by punishing blockades. | |
But the Syrian government, which has concluded similar deals in other areas, sees them as the best way to end the fighting on its own terms. | |
And in some areas they have allowed some groups to keep their weapons and some control over their own communities. |