Syria conflict: Government troops move into Homs Old City
Al-Huriya News Agency - Syrian forces have moved into previously rebel-held areas of Homs after the evacuation of opposition fighters following a two-year siege.
Troops have begun sweeping the Old City for explosives, state media quoted Homs Governor Talal al-Barazi as saying. UN sources have told the BBC the evacuation is complete after the departure of a final convoy of rebels. Some 2,000 fighters and their relatives are believed to have left since Wednesday.
Much of Homs fell to the opposition in 2011, but over the past two years government forces have gradually regained control by subjecting areas once home to tens of thousands of people to continuous siege and bombardment. Civilians began returning the devastated zone of the Old City on Friday to find what remained of their homes, reports say.
One woman emerged from her home carrying a stack of photo albums. "I have nothing left for me to remember so I brought these photos,'' she told the Associated Press. "My house was destroyed."
