Evacuations begin for civilians from Syrian city

Associated Press

BEIRUT

Dozens of children and women along with elderly people in wheelchairs were evacuated Friday from besieged neighborhoods of Syria’s battleground city of Homs under a deal between the warring sides that included a three-day cease-fire.

The rare truce in Homs, which also will allow the entrance of aid convoys, may help build some confidence ahead of a second round of peace talks between the opposition and the government of President Bashar Assad, scheduled to begin in Geneva next week.

By nightfall, about 80 civilians were brought out of the city, many of them appearing frail and exhausted. Residents have endured a crushing blockade and severe food shortages for more than a year.

U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi had pushed for aid for the estimated 2,500 civilians trapped in the ancient, rebel-held quarters known as Old Homs as a confidence-building measure during the first face-to-face meetings in Geneva last month.

The talks were adjourned until Monday with no tangible progress, as the Syrian government accused the opposition of capitalizing on human suffering in Homs to score points with the international community.

There have been few cease-fires during the course of Syria’s nearly 3-year-old conflict. Over the past year, several temporary truces were negotiated to allow for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of food parcels in and around Damascus.

Homs, one of the first areas to rise up against Assad in 2011, has been particularly hard hit. The government has regained control over much of the city, except for a few neighborhoods in the historic center, where rebels are holed up.