Damascus - XINHUA
A total of 460 civilians were evacuated Monday from the besieged old city of Homs in central Syria, the governor of Homs was quoted by the official SANA news agency as saying. Most of the evacuees were women, children and elderly people, said Governor Talal Barazi, noting the possibility of evacuating more civilians from the rebel-held area. A day earlier, more than 611 people were evacuated from the area as part of a recent agreement between the Syrian government and the UN, under which a truce between the government troops and the rebels went into effect Friday to allow the evacuation to happen as well as some relief supplies to enter. About 2,500 people are believed to be trapped in old Homs, part of which has been under siege by the government troops since June 2012.