Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Evacuations, aid resume in Syria’s Homs: Governor

-

Operations to evacuate civilians from besieged parts of Syria's Homs and deliver aid resumed on Wednesday after being suspended for a day, the provincial governor told AFP.

"At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), food aid was able to enter the Old City of Homs," Talal Barazi told AFP.

"The vehicles that are taking in the aid will bring out a number of civilians, including 20 Christians from the Bustan al-Diwan neighbourhood," he added.

The Syrian Red Crescent said earlier Wednesday that a group of families from Bustan al-Diwan had requested evacuation but no safe route out had yet been found for them.

Humanitarian operations targeting besieged neighbourhoods of the Old City of Homs began on Friday, after the UN mediated an agreement and a ceasefire between the government and opposition.

Syrian government forces stand near Red Crescent ambulances and vehicles that helped evacuate civili...
Syrian government forces stand near Red Crescent ambulances and vehicles that helped evacuate civilians from rebel-controlled districts on February 10, 2014 in Homs
, AFP

Since then, more than 1,150 people have been evacuated, many suffering malnutrition after surviving on little more than olives and wild plants after food supplies dwindled during a siege of more than 18 months.

Aid is also being taken into the besieged districts, which are under rebel control, including food parcels and wheat provided by the World Food Programme.

On Tuesday, Barazi said operations had been suspended due to unspecified "logistical difficulties".

An estimated 3,000 people had been trapped in parts of the central city of Homs, much of which has been devastated by ongoing violence between rebels and the army.

Syrian civilians are evacuated during a humanitarian operation in the besieged city of Homs on Febru...
Syrian civilians are evacuated during a humanitarian operation in the besieged city of Homs on February 10, 2014
Bassel Tawil, AFP/File

Humanitarian groups have welcomed the operations, but the UN expressed concern on Tuesday about the fate of hundreds of men and boys taken for questioning by authorities after being evacuated.

A spokeswoman for the UN's refugee agency UNHCR said 336 male evacuees aged between 15 and 55 had been taken in for questioning.

A total of 42 were released, but the remainder were still in the hands of the authorities, she said.

Operations to evacuate civilians from besieged parts of Syria’s Homs and deliver aid resumed on Wednesday after being suspended for a day, the provincial governor told AFP.

“At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), food aid was able to enter the Old City of Homs,” Talal Barazi told AFP.

“The vehicles that are taking in the aid will bring out a number of civilians, including 20 Christians from the Bustan al-Diwan neighbourhood,” he added.

The Syrian Red Crescent said earlier Wednesday that a group of families from Bustan al-Diwan had requested evacuation but no safe route out had yet been found for them.

Humanitarian operations targeting besieged neighbourhoods of the Old City of Homs began on Friday, after the UN mediated an agreement and a ceasefire between the government and opposition.

Syrian government forces stand near Red Crescent ambulances and vehicles that helped evacuate civili...

Syrian government forces stand near Red Crescent ambulances and vehicles that helped evacuate civilians from rebel-controlled districts on February 10, 2014 in Homs
, AFP

Since then, more than 1,150 people have been evacuated, many suffering malnutrition after surviving on little more than olives and wild plants after food supplies dwindled during a siege of more than 18 months.

Aid is also being taken into the besieged districts, which are under rebel control, including food parcels and wheat provided by the World Food Programme.

On Tuesday, Barazi said operations had been suspended due to unspecified “logistical difficulties”.

An estimated 3,000 people had been trapped in parts of the central city of Homs, much of which has been devastated by ongoing violence between rebels and the army.

Syrian civilians are evacuated during a humanitarian operation in the besieged city of Homs on Febru...

Syrian civilians are evacuated during a humanitarian operation in the besieged city of Homs on February 10, 2014
Bassel Tawil, AFP/File

Humanitarian groups have welcomed the operations, but the UN expressed concern on Tuesday about the fate of hundreds of men and boys taken for questioning by authorities after being evacuated.

A spokeswoman for the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR said 336 male evacuees aged between 15 and 55 had been taken in for questioning.

A total of 42 were released, but the remainder were still in the hands of the authorities, she said.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

"Unregistered" Kurds, who have been stateless since a controversial 1962 census, have been flocking to registration centres across Syria - Copyright AFP Delil SOULEIMANGihad...

Business

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI said Tuesday that it would release its latest cybersecurity model to a limited number of partners.

Business

At CIOCAN's sold-out Peer Forum in Vancouver, Canada's technology leaders spent a day wrestling with the gap between AI expecation and the daily reality...