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Syria crisis: 'Hundreds' evacuated from besieged Homs | |
(35 minutes later) | |
More than 600 civilians have been evacuated from the rebel-held Old Quarter of the central Syrian city of Homs, state media report. | |
This was despite mortar fire and shooting which activists say killed several people and wounded others. | |
UN and Syrian Red Crescent teams also managed to deliver relief supplies to the quarter, which has been besieged by government forces for more than a year. | |
On Saturday aid workers were trapped under fire there for several hours. | |
The BBC's Jim Muir says a convoy with relief supplies went into the Old Quarter on Sunday, and then vulnerable civilians were brought out - mainly women, children and the elderly. | |
He says they looked pale and stressed, after surviving for months in violent siege conditions with very little food or medical care. | |
The Wall Street Journal's Sam Dagher, in Homs, has tweeted that more than a dozen men who came out with the evacuees were detained by security forces and taken away to an unknown location. | The Wall Street Journal's Sam Dagher, in Homs, has tweeted that more than a dozen men who came out with the evacuees were detained by security forces and taken away to an unknown location. |
Sunday is the final day of what was agreed as a three-day humanitarian truce. | |
The governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi, has said the ceasefire may be extended by a further three days, to allow all those who might want to leave the chance to do so. | |
Elsewhere, opposition activists said at least 11 people were killed in the northern city of Aleppo when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs - crude weapons comprising cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments - on rebel-held neighbourhoods. | Elsewhere, opposition activists said at least 11 people were killed in the northern city of Aleppo when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs - crude weapons comprising cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments - on rebel-held neighbourhoods. |
'Stark reminder' | 'Stark reminder' |
The operation to help trapped civilians in Homs was the one concrete agreement reached at recent peace talks in Geneva, which are due to resume on Monday. | The operation to help trapped civilians in Homs was the one concrete agreement reached at recent peace talks in Geneva, which are due to resume on Monday. |
A UN/Red Crescent aid convoy came under attack from mortars and gunfire as it was leaving Homs on Saturday. | |
Syrian authorities have blamed the attack on rebels, but they in turn say that President Bashar al-Assad's forces were responsible for the incident. | Syrian authorities have blamed the attack on rebels, but they in turn say that President Bashar al-Assad's forces were responsible for the incident. |
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has insisted that the UN and aid agencies will not be deterred by the weekend's violence. | |
She said the events were "a stark reminder of the dangers that civilians and aid workers face every day across Syria". | |
The Red Crescent, in a joint operation with the UN, is trying to deliver food, water and medicine by truck to some 3,000 civilians in rebel-held areas. | The Red Crescent, in a joint operation with the UN, is trying to deliver food, water and medicine by truck to some 3,000 civilians in rebel-held areas. |
Homs has been a key battleground in the uprising against President Assad. | Homs has been a key battleground in the uprising against President Assad. |
The army launched a series of major attacks to recapture rebel areas in the Old Quarter in the beginning of 2012, with almost daily bombardments. | |
Thousands have been killed, large areas have been reduced to rubble, and many neighbourhoods lie in ruins. | Thousands have been killed, large areas have been reduced to rubble, and many neighbourhoods lie in ruins. |