Syria: UN restarts aid mission in besieged rebel-held Old City of Homs

The UN has restarted its aid mission in the besieged rebel-held Old City of Homs, Syria, after hours of talks aimed at saving a truce between warring parties.

UN vehicles towed trailers of food into the city, and aid agencies prepared buses to transport fleeing civilians.

The current ceasefire deal is due to end late on Wednesday, but the regime has said it will allow an extension.

Hundreds were evacuated from the Old City after a truce was agreed last Friday, but more than 1,000 remain.

Red Crescent vehicles were attacked on their way to the Old City at the weekend, and their workers were briefly trapped.

Government troops have besieged Homs for 18 months.

Evacuations over the weekend were facilitated by a three-day truce, which was then extended until Wednesday.

But the operation was suspended on Tuesday because of what UN and Syrian officials said were logistical reasons.

Homs governor Talal Barazi said the temporary truce could be extended further if necessary.

UN agencies have also expressed concern over the fate of dozens of men who were taken in by Syrian security personnel after they fled Homs.

UN rights spokesman Rupert Colville said it was “essential that they do not come to any harm”.

The detainees were being held at an abandoned school, the UN said.

The Syrian authorities said the screening was necessary to weed out “terrorists”.

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