Syria truce 'to let rebels withdraw from besieged Homs'
(about 3 hours later)
At least 18 people, including 11 children, have been killed in two suicide bombings in the Syrian province of Hama, state media has reported.
Opposition fighters are to be allowed to withdraw from besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs under a deal with the government, reports say.
It said the "terrorist explosions" took place in Jibrin - north-east of Hama city - and al-Humeiri.
Rebels will be allowed to pull back to opposition-held areas north of Homs, activists say. The Syrian government has not commented on the reports.
The attack comes days after scores of people were killed and injured in explosions in government-controlled parts of the central city of Homs.
Fighters have held areas around the Old City despite a two-year siege. Earlier this year civilians were let out.
An agreement was reached on Friday for rebels in Homs to withdraw.
Also on Friday, two bombs in Hama province reportedly killed at least 18.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said that about 1,000 fighters were expected to pull out from rebel-held areas of the besieged city under the terms of a ceasefire.
Eleven children were among the dead after suicide bombers struck in the villages of Jibrin and al-Humeiri, both under government control, state media said.
Rebel fighters have long held onto districts in and around the Old City of Homs. The city has seen some of the worst fighting in the three years of the Syrian conflict.
The attack comes three days after scores of people were killed and injured in car bombings in government-controlled parts of Homs city.
The Observatory said that under the terms of the deal, rebels will withdraw to the north of Homs province, while the army will take control of areas of the Old City which they have vacated.
"The withdrawal has not begun yet and under the agreement those leaving will be able to keep their weapons," Homs activist Thaer al-Khalidiyeh told the AFP news agency.
City stormed
There has so far been no claim of responsibility for the Hama bombings, correspondents say, but al-Qaeda affiliated rebels of the Nusra Front have carried out several car bombings in recent weeks.
There has so far been no claim of responsibility for the Hama bombings, correspondents say, but al-Qaeda affiliated rebels of the Nusra Front have carried out several car bombings in recent weeks.
Both Jibrin and al-Humeiri are under the control of the government.
'Unusually quiet'
Human rights groups say that both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to depose him are killing civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, said about 1,000 fighters were expected to pull out from rebel-held areas of Homs under the terms of a ceasefire.
Hama saw some of the largest demonstrations against Mr Assad in the first months of the Syrian uprising after March 2011.
The city has seen some of the worst fighting in the three years of the Syrian conflict.
But in late summer 2011, security forces stormed the city and have maintained control ever since.
The SOHR said rebels will be allowed to withdraw to the north of the province, while the army will take control of areas of the Old City which they have vacated.
Hama's main city occupies a significant place in the history of modern Syria.
"The withdrawal has not begun yet and under the agreement those leaving will be able to keep their weapons," Homs activist Thaer al-Khalidiyeh told AFP news agency.
In 1982, then-President Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar, sent in troops to quell an uprising by the Sunni opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Tens of thousands were killed and the city flattened.
A team in the city from the AP news agency said it was unusually quiet on Friday, with no shots fired.
Outraged
In February, hundreds of civilians - many ill and starved - were evacuated from Homs Old City after the UN negotiated a temporary ceasefire between rebels and Syrian forces.
The violence in Hama province comes as the government subjects rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo to fierce aerial bombardment as its forces try to end a long-standing stalemate in the city.
On Thursday at least 33 people were killed in an air strike on a market in the northern Halak district of the city.
The strike outraged The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) which described it as the "latest wave of indiscriminate attacks perpetrated against schools and other civilian targets" across the country.
