Syrian rebels, civilians start pullout from last opposition-held district in Homs

HOMS, Syria — Hundreds of Syrian civilians and rebels began pulling out of the last oppositionheld neighbourhood of the city of Homs on Wednesday as part of a local deal with government forces that would return the entire central city to government control. A few thousand insurgents have been holed up in Waer district, which government forces had blockaded for nearly three years, only sporadically allowing in food. The governor of Homs, Talal Barazzi, told The Associated Press on the outskirts of Waer that 272 gunmen and 447 civilians left the district on Wednesday in an evacuation process that was presided over by the United Nations. Once the evacuation is completed, the city of Homs, once dubbed as “the capital of the revolution,” will fully return to government control. The deal is similar to one struck in May 2014 in Homs’ Old City. There, the government assumed control of the quarter after about 2,000 rebels were granted safe passage to opposition areas north of Homs. The area was destroyed and thousands of civilians were killed or forced to flee, and rebels surrendered only after they were starved and outgunned. Still, officials hope that such local deals can be replicated across Syria to create pockets of peace and a climate conducive to peace talks. The international community is making its most serious push yet for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the Syrian conflict that began in 2011. UN and Red Crescent officials oversaw implementation of the deal, which saw the gunmen and some of their families transported to areas further north in Hama and Idlib province. The insurgents included members of the al-Qaida branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and an array of extremist and more moderate rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. Journalists were not allowed to approach the civilians and gunmen as they left. An AP crew saw gunmen getting into buses, their faces covered with scarves to avoid identification. The bus windows were covered with curtains, but several of them could be seen peeking from behind them.