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Europe

Syrian rebels begin evacuation from besieged neighborhood

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Gunmen carrying their weapons and some family members leave the al-Waer neighborhood bound for a town on the Turkish border, in Homs, Syria, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Scores of Syrian opposition fighters and their families have begun leaving al-Waer, the last rebel-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs as part of a Russian-backed evacuation deal signed earlier this week. The city was once known as the epicenter of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

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    Women and children board buses to leave the al-Waer neighborhood bound for a town on the Turkish border, in Homs, Syria, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Scores of Syrian opposition fighters and their families have begun leaving al-Waer, the last rebel-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs as part of a Russian-backed evacuation deal signed earlier this week. The city was once known as the epicenter of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

  • 8a2aa6d4-
    Image 3 of 3

    Gunmen carrying their weapons and some family members leave the al-Waer neighborhood bound for a town on the Turkish border, in Homs, Syria, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Scores of Syrian opposition fighters and their families have begun leaving al-Waer, the last rebel-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs as part of a Russian-backed evacuation deal signed earlier this week. The city was once known as the epicenter of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

HOMS, Syria – Syrian opposition fighters and their families have begun leaving the last rebel-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs as part of a Russian-backed evacuation deal signed earlier this week.

Reporters saw scores of opposition fighters and their families leaving the area Saturday in buses bound for the northern rebel-held town of Jarablous on the border with Turkey.

The al-Waer neighborhood is home to about 75,000 people and has been under a government siege since 2013, triggering shortages of medicine, and occasionally of food.

Some opposition activists have criticized the agreement, saying it aims to displace 12,000 al-Waer residents, including 2,500 fighters. The evacuation will take place over the coming weeks.