Syrian rebels evacuate stronghold

DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels started evacuating their last stronghold inside the central city of Homs yesterday under a deal concluded recently with the Syrian government and supervised by the United Nations, a well-informed source told Xinhua.

A convoy of 14 buses and ambulances entered the alWaer neighbourhood, west of Homs, escorted by UN representatives to transport the first batch of rebels and their families from the sprawling neighbourhood to the northwestern province of Idlib, one of the most prominent strongholds for the militants, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

“The armed men started getting on the buses in accordance with a list of names the rebels handed over to the UN representatives and the Syrian authorities earlier,” the source added.

The evacuation is the first implementation of the recently-concluded deal between the rebels and the Syrian government, which was designed to remove the last forms of insurgency inside Homs, Syria's third largest city and a significant hub. Last Tuesday, negotiations between the rebels and the Syrian authorities were concluded with an agreement to evacuate the rebels from their last stronghold in Homs, a source told Xinhua.

Governor of Homs Talal Barazi has concluded the final deal for the rebels’ evacuation as of next week, the official source said.

The deal also allows the rebels, who want to remain in Homs, to surrender to the authorities and clear their records, the source added.

The authorities will start settling the records of the armed men who want to return to their normal lives “in rebuilding their homeland and protecting Syria”, the source added.

The talks between rebel commanders and officials of Homs province aim to end the armed manifestation there by securing the evacuation of 3 000 rebels from the neighbourhood into rebel-held areas in the northern province of Idlib.

“The evacuation of the rebels will be in batches – the first is for radicals who have refused a truce with the government.

Those, who number 700, will be taken to Idlib or northern Hama, while the rest, who are less extreme, are going to be evacuated later,” the source said. The deal would also see the release of detainees from government jails and the entry of food and aid convoys to the besieged neighbourhood, the source said, adding that the neighbourhood will also see a rehabilitation of government institutions and infrastructure. The source said negotiations and implementation of the agreement are supervised by the UN. The efforts are the latest to reach a settlement there after several previous unsuccessful attempts.

Picture: AP HOPE RETURNS: A resident seen pushing his bicycle in an area adjacent to the Waer neighbourhood in the central city of Homs, Syria, on Tuesday. Once Syrian rebels evacuate their stronghold, Homs once known as the ‘capital of the revolution’ will return...