Syrian Troops Agree on Ceasefire with Rebels in Homs Ahead of Ramadan

The truce in al-Waer district, the last remaining rebel-held area inside the city of Homs, has gone into effect as of Friday, just a couple of days ahead of the commencement of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, Xinhua quoted al-Mayadeen TV as saying.

Last month, the Syrian government declared the old quarters of Homs city free of rebels, after an agreement took place in that ancient part of the city between the government troops and the rebels.

The deal entailed the evacuation of the rebels form old Homs and in return the government accepted to release some of the imprisoned opposition activists and members of the rebels' families. The rebels also released hostages they had taken before from government-controlled areas and broken a siege they had imposed on pro-government areas in northern Syria.

After last month's deal, the entire city of Homs has been under government control except the al-Waer neighborhood and three towns in the northern countryside of Homs, namely al-Dar al-Kabira, Talbiseh, and al-Rastan.

Friday's truce is deemed by observers as a good sign for a near- future deal between the government troops and the rebels.

Homs, Syria's third largest city, was one of the first areas to sympathize with an anti-government movement in Syria. The rebels there took considerable swathes of land, but government troops have stripped them of their territory over the past year.