Syrian evacuation resumed in Homs

The so-called “successful” evacuation mission in Homs resumed today, Thursday, and has been extended until Sunday. So far, 1,400 people have been evacuated from the besieged Old City in central Syria since last Friday, when the UN-brokered ceasefire began.

As the evacuation continues, UN agencies have expressed concern over the fate of 400 men who were taken by Syrian security personnel after they fled from Homs; this number conflicts with the local governor’s estimate of 330. The men are currently undergoing background checks and being detained for questioning, over which the UN has neither control nor any information about how it is being carried out.

The Syrian authorities hold back all males aged between 15 and 55; the “fighting age”. They do this, they claim, in order to “weed out the terrorists”.

The governor of Homs is Talal Barazi. He said that 70 people had been cleared for release on Thursday. However, thousands remain trapped in the Old City. According to Barazi, 111 men had been questioned and released by the government, while 190 others were still being held. “I just want to say, I hope that the bigger percentage will all be released,” he told the BBC.

Negotiations limping behind

“Today, I don’t have much to tell you except at the beginning of this week it was as laborious as it was last week, we are not making much progress. One of my colleagues said, I needed tons of patience, and I have that.” This is how UN Joint Special Representative Lakdar Brahimi opened today’s briefing on the situation in Syria. Mr. Brahimi mentioned that he will report to the UN General Secretary and “most probably” the Security Council.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, has called for immediate action, appealing especially to the Security Council to start tackling the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded during nearly three years of unrest in Syria.

“The situation for civilians trapped and under siege in a number of locations around Syria is truly dire, with vital food and medical supplies either in short supply or completely lacking,” said José Luis Díaz, Head of Amnesty’s UN office in New York. “The Security Council, including Russia and China, must adopt a strong resolution on access and not fail Syria’s besieged civilians now.”

Russia and China have vetoed three Security Council resolutions on Syria in the past two and a half years, and the former has already voiced its objections to the latest draft resolution.

As negotiations continue on the draft, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos is expected to brief the Security Council today on developments in implementing the Presidential Statement.

There is still limited progress in humanitarian aid to access some besieged areas, and in the midst of negotiations, to end the siege of Yarmouk, where hundreds have been evacuated to hospitals elsewhere in Damascus.

Living on grass and olives

Recognising the slow pace of reconciliation and political will to enable humanitarian aid to reach those in desperate need, Brahimi appealed for help for the Syrian people to make such missions a reality. It is essential to relieve the people from the nightmare they have been living through for three years, he said. “Homs can be called a success,” added the UN envoy, “but it has been six months in the making; six months to get 800 people out and a little bit of food in.”

The ceasefire, however brief and interrupted, allowed the evacuation of civilians from Old Homs but collapsed last week when a UN aid convoy came under attack. Made up of UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) vehicles, the convoy was attacked on Saturday, only one day after the successful evacuation of 83 people trapped in sections of central Homs for more than 18 months.

Buses drove dozens of exhausted-looking evacuees, accompanied by SARC staff, to a meeting point outside Homs, where aid workers, soldiers and police were gathered. The World Food Programme said many appeared malnourished. “They were living on leaves and grass and olives and whatever else they could find,” said WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs.

Lakhdar Brahimi called the mission in Homs a “success”, albeit extremely risky for both the UN workers and young volunteers from the Syrian Red Crescent. They described the conditions in Homs as “Hell-like”.

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[Source: SARC Media Committee]

Amnesty International has expressed its deep concern for the dependability of the ceasefires, which have now been “extended” until Sunday.

Meanwhile, in Geneva the Syrian regime and opposition were due to sit down for a joint session of talks after swapping allegations of responsibility for the violence that has ruined their country. The opposition delegation said on Monday that it refuses to return for a third round of talks if no progress is made.

Much to Washington’s annoyance, the Russians have already objected to a draft Security Council resolution calling on all sides to allow aid workers to have access to the people across Syria. US President Barack Obama suggested that by blocking the resolution Russia was responsible for “starving civilians”, along with the Syrian regime.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman rejected the criticism as a “biased distortion”, highlighting Russia’s role in helping achieve the ceasefire in Homs and insisting that Russia is as concerned about the humanitarian situation in Syria as Washington. According to the BBC, the UN in New York is convinced that the spat has not completely “slammed the door” on an alternative resolution.