The operation has begun to evacuate civilians from the besieged Syrian city of Homs where a UN-brokered ceasefire has been agreed to take place over the next three days.

Women, children and the elderly who want to leave are being bussed to safety

Regional authorities were expecting about 200 people to leave the old city on Friday in the first stage of the
humanitarian deal.

It also includes the delivery of aid to those who choose to stay. This is due to begin on Saturday.

The siege has gone on for more than 18 months with reports of up to 2,500 people trapped inside.

Elsewhere in Syria the violence continues.

Activists denounce what they say has been a further deadly deluge of so-called barrel bombs dropped by government forces on the city of Aleppo.

Many consider it a war crime to unleash these bombs – oil drums or cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments – in civilian areas.