Work is underway to implement the settlement agreement in the al-Waer neighborhood in Homs city, the Governor of Homs Talal al-Barazi said Tuesday to SANA.
The agreement was reached earlier this month by the committees concerned in the neighborhood so that it could be cleared of all militants and weapons so that government institutions and services can be restored.
Barazi told a SANA reporter that “after the points agreed on were established, implementation of the 15-day first stage of the agreement has immediately started.”
He elaborated that there will be “appeasement” and that the flow of relief and food supplies will be boosted, noting that the committees in charge will study the situation of the detained and kidnapped people.
The governor said he expected the first group of “extremist gunmen” to leave the neighborhood by the end of this week, saying those who are willing to leave will have to hand over their “medium and heavy weapons” to the side specified by the committees and will be allowed to keep only “light weapons”.
During the second stage, Barazi said, the gunmen willing to go back to their normal lives will have their legal status settled, noting that all state institutions will go back to work in the neighborhood in the course of the second and third stages.
By the end of the third stage, the Waer neighborhood will be clear of weapons and gunmen and under the full control of the state, according to the governor.
A similar agreement to the one at hand was reached in 2014, by which life mostly returned to normal in Old City after it was cleared of weapons and gunmen.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
