Government, opposition reach deal for rebel withdrawal from Homs: Reports

The last remaining Syrian opposition rebels reached a deal to withdraw from the city of Homs as part of a UN-brokered deal, the government said on Tuesday.

The agreement will reportedly take hold in Waer, the last rebel-controlled district of the city.

The 2,000 remaining rebels will leave Waer over the next two months, leaving government forces in full control of the city, according to the city’s governor, Talal al-Barazi.

Barazi told AFP the withdrawal had been agreed with “co-ordination committees,” but did not specify which rebel groups were involved.

"All the rebels will leave Waer within two months. A group of 200 to 300 armed men will leave in the first step, which will begin on Saturday," Barazi said.

According to Barazi, the first stage of the deal will see rebels hand over heavy weaponry to the government over the course of a week.

Despite reports that the latest round of UN-brokered talks had reached an agreement on Tuesday, a UN spokesperson contacted by MEE declined to comment.

A local opposition news site, Central Homs News Website, denied on Tuesday that the negotiations had been successful, reporting that a final deal had yet to be signed.

However, the site reported that a ceasefire would come into force on Tuesday evening.

In 2014 opposition forces left the Old City of Homs as part of a negotiated retreat after a two-year government siege that devastated what was once known as the “capital of the revolution”.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, also reported on Tuesday that 172 “wanted people” had handed themselves into the authorities in Homs province.

The report gave no further information about the incident.

About 75,000 people live in Waer, down from 300,000 before the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.