(Zaman Al Wasl)- About 350 people, including 120 rebel fighters, arrived the northern Homs countryside on Thursday, leaving al-Waer neighborhood, their last foothold in the city of Homs.
The fighters, carrying their personal weapons, and their families headed from the al-Waer neighborhood to the rebel-held Dar Kbira town in the northern countryside, before a new travel to rebel-held Idlib province.
Abu Hussein, an army defector told Zaman al-Wasl, that rebels agreed to leave al-Waer to lessen civilians suffering.
The evacuation was part of the Syrian regime's attempts to conclude local agreements with rebels in besieged areas that have resulted in rebels being given safe passage to rebel-controlled areas.
Rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad say the agreements are part of a regime strategy to forcibly displace populations from opposition-held areas after years of siege and bombardment.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates several thousand rebel fighters remain in Waer.
Al-Waer neighborhood contains around 40,000 civilians and 800 fighters, according to Talal Barazi, the Governor of Homs.
He expects the neighborhood to be free of weapons and fighters in around 20 to 25 days, if all goes according to plan, according to Reuters.
The latest evacuation of fighters from Waer was postponed from Monday, and the rebels were originally expected to head to the insurgent stronghold of Idlib province in northwestern Syria.
Last December regime and rebels reached truce and about 300 fighters headed Homs. But the fragile deal has been halted for 6 months amid severe blockade imposed by regime forces. (With Reuters)
The fighters, carrying their personal weapons, and their families headed from the al-Waer neighborhood to the rebel-held Dar Kbira town in the northern countryside, before a new travel to rebel-held Idlib province.
Abu Hussein, an army defector told Zaman al-Wasl, that rebels agreed to leave al-Waer to lessen civilians suffering.
The evacuation was part of the Syrian regime's attempts to conclude local agreements with rebels in besieged areas that have resulted in rebels being given safe passage to rebel-controlled areas.
Rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad say the agreements are part of a regime strategy to forcibly displace populations from opposition-held areas after years of siege and bombardment.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates several thousand rebel fighters remain in Waer.
Al-Waer neighborhood contains around 40,000 civilians and 800 fighters, according to Talal Barazi, the Governor of Homs.
He expects the neighborhood to be free of weapons and fighters in around 20 to 25 days, if all goes according to plan, according to Reuters.
The latest evacuation of fighters from Waer was postponed from Monday, and the rebels were originally expected to head to the insurgent stronghold of Idlib province in northwestern Syria.
Last December regime and rebels reached truce and about 300 fighters headed Homs. But the fragile deal has been halted for 6 months amid severe blockade imposed by regime forces. (With Reuters)
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