According to the agency, engineering brigades have completed work at the 47 kilometers long highway (29 miles).

The Homs-Hama highway and a number nearby settlements came under the control of the Syrian government army about a month ago as a result of arrangements on withdrawal of radical groups from the north of Homs province and the south of Hama. The highway between the two provinces, which is located in central Syria, is considered to be a strategically important site from an economic point of view.

After the highway reopening, motorists waved Syrian flags while driving the road, marking the victory of President Bashar al-Assad's forces, which managed in recent months to gain back control of all pockets of militants around the country's capital, as well as along the highway, which has been sieged for years.

READ MORE: Huge Blasts Heard Near Airport in Syria's Hama — Reports (PHOTO, VIDEO)

The Syrian government troops with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces have made significant progress in liberating key parts of Syria from terrorists since the beginning of this year.

READ MORE: Syrian Army Liberates Dozens of Towns in Central Syria as Militants Surrender </s> A soldier stands guard near a poster of Syria's President Bashar al Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the re-opening of the road between Homs and Hama in Rastan, Syria, June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government re-opened the highway between the cities of Homs and Hama on Wednesday a month after its forces retook a rebel-held pocket that had straddled the road that was closed for almost seven years.

Motorists waved Syrian flags as they drove down the highway whose re-opening marked a victory for President Bashar al-Assad, who in recent months has taken control of all rebel-held pockets around the capital Damascus as well as the enclave along the highway which had been under siege for years.

From holding less than a fifth of Syria in 2015, Assad, with Russian and Iranian help, has recovered control of the largest chunk of the country.

Without the highway, traffic had to take an indirect route to travel the 45 km (30 miles) between Syria’s third and fourth largest pre-war cities.

Residents from Talbiseh, a town just north of Homs controlled by rebels until early May, said they were relieved to see the highway re-open.

“If we wanted to go to Homs before, we had to go half way round the world,” said 42-year-old farmer Hussein al-Muhammad. “Now it will just take us quarter of a hour.”

Another Talbiseh farmer, 61-year-old Hamoud Alloush, said he had survived the years of siege by eating what he could grow. He had already been to Homs and back to sell his produce on Wednesday.

“(The journey) used to take more than two hours,” he said.

Significant areas of Syria still remain beyond Assad’s grasp, including nearly all of the north, much of the east, and a chunk of the southwest, areas where foreign interests will complicate further gains. </s> Syrian authorities have reopened part of the National Museum in Damascus to the public, more than six years after it was shut down amid the country’s civil war.

Culture Minister Mohamed al-Ahmad said the October 28 reopening of the world-renowned antiquities museum sent "a message of security and safety" for the conflict-wracked country.

The museum closed in 2012 to protect its ancient artifacts from damage, and most of the collection was evacuated and kept at secret locations.

The decision to reopen part of the museum comes as the Syrian government maintains normality is returning to the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces secured Damascus earlier this year, but fighting has continued in some areas of the country.

Russia and Iran have given Assad crucial support throughout the 7 1/2-year war in Syria, which began with a government crackdown on protesters in March 2011.

The conflict has left more than 400,000 people dead, displaced millions, and devastated many historic sites across the country.

Based on reporting by the BBC, Reuters, AP, and AFP </s> A Free Syrian Army soldier walks through a street in Amariya district in Aleppo, Syria on September 10, 2012.

Beirut: The expected withdrawal of Syrian rebels from their one-time bastion of east Aleppo is the latest by opposition fighters surrounded by government forces.

For much of the conflict in Syria, the government has promoted “local reconciliation” deals that have often involved the evacuation from opposition territory of civilians and rebels who have surrendered.

The government says such deals are the best way to end the conflict that began with anti-regime protests in March 2011, before spiralling into civil war.

But the opposition says they are forced into these agreements after months or years of siege and army bombardment.

The tactic has attracted international concern, with allegations that the government is pursuing a “starve or surrender” policy against opposition areas.

More than 800,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the United Nations, with most encircled by regime forces, although rebels also use the tactic.

Probably the most well-known evacuation deal prior to Aleppo produced the 2014 withdrawal of rebels from the Old City of Homs after a two-year government siege.

Homs was dubbed the “capital of the revolution” after vast protests there early in Syria’s anti-regime uprising.

Assad’s forces later blockaded and bombarded insurgents holed up in the historic neighbourhood.

Most were finally evacuated in May 2014 under a deal involving a major rebel coalition and regime backer Iran.

But the regime continued to besiege Waer, the last remaining opposition-held district in Homs, until a local deal was agreed in December 2015.

Over the next several months, hundreds of rebels and their families were bussed out of Waer and taken to rural areas of Homs province.

In August 2016, all rebels and civilians from Daraya near Damascus were evacuated under a local agreement that followed a four-year government siege.

The opposition fighters and their families were given safe passage to rebel-held Idlib in the northwest, and regime troops moved back into the town, once a symbol of Syria’s peaceful uprising.

In September, a further 300 Syrians living in rebel-held Moadimayet Al Sham near Damascus were evacuated under the same accord.

Opposition fighters said they were forced to accept the deal, as a blockade and constant bombardment by the army had made the humanitarian situation untenable.

A UN-backed agreement saw hundreds of people evacuated from the government-controlled towns of Fuaa and Kafraya and rebel-held Zabadani in December 2015.

Fuaa and Kafraya, in northwestern Idlib province, are Shiite towns besieged by rebels.

Zabadani and Madaya are two rebel-held towns near Damascus that are surrounded by government forces.

The elaborate deal involving Lebanon and Turkey as transit countries has also led to humanitarian deliveries to both rebel and regime areas, most recently in September 2016. </s> Syrian rebels and their families began retreating from the outskirts of Homs, the last remaining opposition-held stronghold in central Syria, after a Russian-brokered evacuation deal was signed earlier this week.

The first buses carrying rebels and their families departed from the al-Waer neighborhood in western Homs early on Saturday, state-run SANA news agency reported.

Talal al-Barazi, Homs’ governor, told the media outlet that the first group of evacuees includes over 1,500 people who will be transported to the northeastern edge of Aleppo province.

The evacuation operation is being overseen by Syrian and Russian military police units, al-Barazi later told Reuters, adding that all rebels from al-Waer are due to depart within around six weeks.

“The preparations and the reality on the ground indicate that things will go well,” the governor stressed. “We are optimistic that the full exit of armed [fighters] from this district will pave the way for other reconciliations and settlements,” he added.

Government forces have been fighting to retake the al-Waer neighborhood, home to some 75,000 people, since 2013.

After the Arab Spring broke out in 2011, the city of Homs saw massive riots against President Bashar Assad, which gradually turned violent, as peaceful demonstrations led to the rise of an armed insurgency.

Once the first batch of rebels has left the area, food and aid supplies are expected to arrive in the troubled neighborhood, al-Barrazi told AP. Earlier this week, he that said rebels who laid down their weapons and decided to stay in al-Waer could be eligible for government amnesty, as declared earlier.

On Friday, the Russian Reconciliation Center said negotiations between the Syrian military and rebel commanders are underway in Homs, Damascus, and Hama, as well as other locations. Once Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo was finally completely liberated last year when rebels evacuated after a ceasefire was declared.

As the Syrian military continues their offensive against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Damascus has intensified its efforts to persuade some of the rebel groups to surrender and sign reconciliation agreements.

Speaking to Chinese TV station Phoenix last week, President Assad said ceasefire deals negotiated with local rebel leaders were “the real political solutions” that could lead to a lasting peace in war-torn Syria. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Syrian rebels and their families are leaving their last remaining enclave in Homs

Syrian rebels and their families are leaving their last remaining enclave in Homs, a city once dubbed "the capital of the revolution".

Buses have begun transporting people out of al-Wair district, under a Russian-backed evacuation deal.

Al-Wair is home to an estimated 75,000 people and has been under siege by government forces since late 2013.

About 1,500 people will leave for the Aleppo countryside on Saturday, Homs Governor Talal Barazi has said.

The opposition Homs Media Centre says up to 15,000 people could leave in the coming weeks, Reuters news agency reports.

The evacuation is part of a deal reached between community leaders and the government in December 2015. Hundreds of rebels have previously left al-Wair under its terms, but implementation of the agreement had stalled in recent months.

Evacuees will be bussed out of Homs to Jarablus, an area in northern Syria held by rebels backed by Turkey, according to UK-based group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Russian forces are on the ground to supervise the evacuation

The Syrian government says such "reconciliation" deals, which have been agreed in several rebel-held areas, are key to ending the six-year civil war. Opposition fighters say that they have been coerced into such agreements by brutal sieges and bombardments.

Homs became a key battleground of the Syrian uprising after residents embraced the call to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 and drove security forces out of much of the city the following year.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Al-Wair district in Homs has been besieged by government forces for nearly three years

That prompted the government to begin a two-year siege that left whole areas destroyed and eventually forced rebels to withdraw from the Old City in 2014.

Al-Wair, on the western outskirts, is the last rebel-held district. </s> HOMS, Syria/BEIRUT: Rebels and their families began leaving their last bastion in the Syrian city of Homs on Saturday, state media and a Reuters witness said, under a Russian-backed deal with the government expected to be among the largest evacuations of its kind.

The agreement underlines Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's upper hand in the war, as more rebel fighters opt to leave areas they have defended for years in deals that amount to negotiated withdrawals to other parts of the country.

Several buses drove out of the al-Waer district in Homs, which was an early centre of the popular uprising against Assad.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 rebels and civilians would evacuate in batches over the coming weeks under the deal, according to opposition activists in al-Waer and a war monitor.

Homs governor Talal Barazi told Reuters that he expected 1,500 people, including at least 400 fighters, to depart on Saturday for rebel-held areas northeast of Aleppo, and that most of al-Waer's residents would stay.

"The preparations and the reality on the ground indicate that things will go well," Barazi said.

The Syrian government has described such deals as a "workable model" that brings the country closer to peace after six years of conflict. But the opposition decries them as a tactic of forcibly displacing people who oppose Assad after years of bombardment and siege.

Along with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), Russian and Syrian forces were overseeing the evacuation, which would take about six weeks, Barazi said.

He said there was communication with other rebel-held areas north of Homs city to reach similar deals, including the towns of al-Rastan and Talbiseh.

"We are optimistic that the full exit of armed (fighters) from this district will pave the way for other reconciliations and settlements," he said.

The government has increasingly tried to press besieged rebel areas to surrender and accept what it calls reconciliation agreements.

In an interview with Chinese TV station Phoenix last week, Assad said deals brokered locally with rebels were "the real political solutions". He added that he had not expected anything from Geneva, where U.N.-led peace talks ended this month with no breakthrough.

Broadcasting live from the al-Waer departure area, Syrian state television spoke to a Russian colonel, who said via an interpreter that security would soon return to the district.

"This agreement was reached only under the patronage of the Russian side ... and it will be implemented with Russian guarantees," he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the buses would go to the Jarablus area held by Turkey-backed rebels in the northern Aleppo countryside.

Once completed, it would mark the biggest evacuation during the war out of one Syrian district, which is home to about 40,000 civilians and more than 2,500 fighters, the monitoring group said.

"It's because there is zero trust in Assad's government. That's why the numbers are high," said the head of the Homs Media Center, run by opposition activists. "For years, it has besieged us...and bombed people's homes."

Many did not want to stay out of fear of arrest, and around 15,000 people had signed up to evacuate so far, he said.

"People are going to live in tents, in refugee camps," the activist said, adding that he also planned to leave in the coming weeks. "They are willing to leave their homes, their land, towards the unknown."

Dozens of buses stood at a crossing in the morning waiting to leave al-Waer, accompanied by SARC ambulances, a Reuters witness said.

Police officers searched people before the buses drove out, the Homs police chief told Syrian state television.

In the coming weeks, evacuees could be shuttled to other rebel-held areas in northern Syria, including the insurgent stronghold of Idlib province, state TV said.

Under the agreement, fighters could stay in al-Waer if they hand over their weapons and settle their affairs with the government, it said.

State-owned al-Ikhbariya TV cited the Homs governor as saying that 20 buses had left so far and that rebels carried their small arms out with them.

The government would start returning its services to the district with the departure of the last batch of rebels, Barazi said. Allegations of an evacuation of al-Waer's residents were "devoid of truth", the channel quoted Barazi as saying.

The deal follows others that were never fully implemented between the government and rebel groups in al-Waer, which has been pounded by air strikes in recent weeks.

A few hundred rebels from the district have previously been allowed safe passage to Idlib in the northwest.

Rebels and civilians have poured into Idlib at an accelerating rate over the last year, bussed out of other parts of western Syria that the government and allied forces recaptured from rebels.

Rebel groups have been on the back foot in Syria, following Russia's intervention into the war on Assad's side, bringing its air power to bear in support of his army and its Iranian and Shi'ite militia allies.

The wide array of mostly Sunni rebel factions includes some jihadists as well as some groups supported by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption The museum originally opened in 1920, but has been closed for six years

Part of Syria's national museum has reopened to the public six years after civil war forced its closure.

The world-renowned antiquities museum in Damascus closed in 2012 to protect its ancient artefacts from damage.

Most of the collection was then evacuated and kept at secret locations to keep exhibits safe.

The decision to reopen part of the museum comes as the Syrian government maintains normality is returning to the conflict-wracked country.

Earlier this year, the capital was secured by President Bashar Assad's forces, but fighting still continues in some areas of the country.

The seven-year conflict in Syria has left more than 350,000 people dead, and devastated many historic cities and sites across the country.

Culture Minister Mohamed al-Ahmad said the reopening of the museum sent a "genuine message" that the country's rich cultural heritage was not destroyed by "terrorism", the Associated Press reports.

Only part of the National Museum of Damascus opened to visitors on Sunday, but the museum's deputy director said authorities were working on reopening it all.

Image copyright EPA

"We will exhibit a group of artefacts from all periods from prehistory, the ancient east and the classical and Islamic eras in this section," Ahmad Deeb told the media.

The museum's gardens stayed open to the public during the conflict, but the building was closed as Damascus fell under rebel rocket fire.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption An estimated 300,000 artefacts were protected by the government around the country

Image copyright EPA Image caption The inauguration ceremony was organised by the culture and tourism ministries

Syria, as one of the most centrally placed locations for trade routes throughout ancient history, is renowned for its rich and diverse heritage.

Some of its famous sites, including the Unesco world heritage site at Palmyra, fell into the hands of the Islamic State militant group and were intentionally damaged.

Others, like the ancient heart of Aleppo, were destroyed by fierce and relentless fighting.

An unknown number of antique items are suspected to have been smuggled abroad and sold since the conflict began - with accusations falling on all sides.

Government officials have said thousands of artefacts have been successfully recovered from militant-held areas or on the border.

Earlier this month hundreds of these recovered artefacts were put on display at the Damascus Opera House. </s> Syrian rebels and their families are leaving their last remaining stronghold in the city of Homs, under a Russian-backed evacuation deal.

 

 Buses began transporting people out of the Al-Wair district on March 18.

 

 Homs Governor Talal Barazi said he expected 1,500 people, including at least 400 rebels, to depart on March 18 for opposition-held areas northeast of Aleppo.

 

 Between 10,000 and 15,000 rebels and civilians would evacuate in batches over the coming weeks under the agreement.

 

 Homs was the early center of the 2011 popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Government forces have recaptured all but the Al-Wair district in the city.

 

 Al-Wair is home to an estimated 75,000 people and has been under siege by government forces since late 2013.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
The Syrian government re-opens the Homs–Hama highway after it was closed for seven years.