Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
's forces.
If rebel fighters do leave, the capture of Homs, Syria's third largest city, would be a significant victory for Assad, weeks before presidential elections set for June 3.
The 48-hour cease-fire deal, reported by opposition activists and a pro-government TV, came after weeks of unprecedented pounding of rebel-held districts by regime forces. In a sign the truce came into effect, an News Agency that Dare Not be Named team in Homs Friday said it was unusually quiet, with no shots fired from either side.
Still, the deal could potentially collapse if there are last-minute disputes over the terms of evacuation and some rebels decide to hold out.
One Homs-based opposition activist said it was a bitter moment for the rebels who have been barricaded in 13 neighborhoods around Homs' historic center.
"This isn't what we wanted, but it's all we could get," Beibars Tilawi told the AP in a Skype interview. "The regime wanted to take control of the heart of the revolution." Evacuations may start Saturday.
Residents of Homs were among the first to rise fiercely against Assad's rule three years ago. After waves of anti-Assad protests by its residents, rebels seized control of much of the city and Homs quickly became the focus of the worst violence of the uprising.
Homs, 130 km north of Damascus with a prewar population of around 1.2 million, is particularly important for its centrality. It links the capital with Aleppo in the north -- the country's largest city and another key battleground.
Blocks of Homs have been blasted to rubble in the grueling battles as Assad's forces fought to wrest it back. For more than a year, government troops have blockaded rebels inside a string of districts spread over some 13 km, causing widespread hunger and weakening the fighters.