Syrian rebels were retreating from the besieged city of Homs on Wednesday, surrendering the "capital of the revolution" to President Bashar Assad under a cease-fire that gave them safe passage to other insurgent-held areas of the country.
The governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi, was quoted by the state news agency Sana as saying some 2,000 people would be evacuated. Local activists said the first 600 to leave were wounded fighters and civilians.
The evacuation from Homs took place under a cease-fire deal announced on Friday.
McClatchy newspapers says:
"The rebels' departure marked the effective end of a more-than-two-year campaign by opponents of President Bashar Assad to control the country's third largest city. It came amid a series of government successes in expelling rebel units from population centers in central Syria and around the capital, Damascus."