UN restarts aid mission in Homs

BBC Online :
The UN has restarted its aid mission in the besieged rebel-held Old City of Homs after hours of talks aimed at saving a truce between warring parties.
UN vehicles towed trailers of food into the city, and aid agencies prepared buses to transport fleeing civilians.
The current ceasefire deal is due to end late on Wednesday, but the regime has said it will allow an extension. Hundreds were evacuated from the Old City after a truce was agreed last Friday, but more than 1,000 remain.
The BBC’s Lyse Doucet, in Homs, says every precaution is being taken with the latest food delivery.
Red Crescent vehicles were attacked on their way to the Old City on the weekend, and their workers were briefly trapped.
Government troops have besieged Homs for 18 months.
The “humanitarian pause” in the Old City of Homs is a rare glimmer of light in a dark and devastating war. The UN says the mission has already helped a “significant” number of people to leave the besieged area and a “limited” amount of aid is getting aid. The UN’s resident humanitarian co-ordinator Yacoub el Hillo told me they were “baby steps” which, he hoped, could lead to the “giant steps” that were needed.
But a rare truce also meant to build trust is exposing deep enmities. The longer the mission goes on, the more sensitive it becomes. Some pro-government forces are vehemently opposed to an operation which is allowing fighters to escape an area which has been the focus of heavy fighting for nearly two years. And the opposition is angry that young men who leave are being taken in for questioning. More than 100 have been released, but more than 200 are still being held.