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The Syrian government and opposition rebels on Friday reportedly agreed to a deal which will allow opposition fighters besieged in the city of Homs to withdraw during a ceasefire. The deal means that all but one district in the city, once called the “capital of the revolution”, will be under government control again.
Britain-based monitoring group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that a ceasefire was in place in the Old City and many other rebel-held districts. “A truce began on Friday… with the goal of applying a deal reached between the sides. The deal stipulates a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the rebels in the Old City. As a result of the deal, the army will retake control of these areas”, it said. An activist on the ground reportedly confirmed the deal, and added that the withdrawal had not begun yet.
The agreement comes after government forces last month launched an assault against the few remaining rebel-held parts of the city. In fact, regime troops have laid siege to the Old City and some of its neighboring localities for almost two years now, with almost 3,000 people trapped in the blockade as medicine and food supplies dwindled.
In February, a UN Red Crescent evacuation had freed about half the people trapped in Homs. Since the operation, several hundreds have left, with about 1,000 fighters staying behind in rebel-held neighborhood. If the deal is held up by both parties, Al-Waer will become the only neighborhood that will be under rebel control.
Meanwhile, state media reported that in the Hama province, 20 people, including 12 children, were killed by suicide bombers in Alawite towns Al-Humairi and Jidrin. The attacks came after a double car bombing on Tuesday killed 100 people in Homs. The government intends to hold the presidential election next month, which Assad is expected to win handsomely, despite the increasing violence. The elections will be Syria’s first multi-candidate presidential vote, after Presidential referendums were done away with in a constitutional amendment.
