2nd LD Writethru: Syrian rebels start evacuating last stronghold in Homs under deal with gov't

Syrian rebels started evacuating their last stronghold inside the central city of Homs on Wednesday 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 al-Waer neighborhood, west of Homs, escorted by UN representatives to transport the first batch of rebels and their families from the sprawling neighborhood 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 on Wednesday 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 neighborhood into rebel-held areas in the northern province of Idlib.

"The evacuation of the rebels will be on batches, the first is for radicals who refuse the 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 neighborhood, the source said, adding that the neighborhood will also see a rehabilitation of government institutions and infrastructure.

The source said negotiations and implementation of the agreement are supervised by the United Nations.

The efforts underway are the latest to reach a settlement there after several previous unsuccessful attempts.

The recent deals came less than a month after world powers agreed on the need to establish a cease-fire in Syria during talks in Vienna, Austria.

The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is working on establishing working groups from the opposition and the Syrian government to discuss political ways to help end the crisis. Endit