UNITED NATIONS, February 10, /ITAR-TASS/. The Syrian government and the opposition have agreed to extend a humanitarian pause in Homs for another three days to evacuate civilians and deliver relief aid to the city, Valery Amos, the U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs said on Monday.
She expressed the hope that the humanitarian pause would enable the United Nations to evacuate more civilians and deliver the essentials to Homs.
The U.N. under-secretary general said that relief workers in cooperation with local authorities and representatives of all parties as well as community leaders had evacuated over 800 people from the Homs old quarters and delivered vital foods and medical supplies to the besieged city on February 7.
Amos said the needs and security of Syrian civilians isolated from the outside world by hostilities should be a top priority for the United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partners.
She also said it was impossible to launch targeted attacks on the U.N. staff and other relief workers, including members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society, who are delivering relief aid to Homs and evacuating the civilians.
Valery Amos hopes that negotiations between Damascus and the Syrian opposition that have resumed this week will help reaching agreements that will provide humanitarian access to 250,000 Syrians besieged in various parts of the country.