Syria: Relief on hand for Homs after days of fighting end in truce By STEPHANIE NEBEHAY Published on Thursday 21 June 2012 00:00 International aid teams stood ready last night to enter the war-torn Syrian city of Homs to evacuate people trapped and wounded by ten days of fighting between rebels and forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad. Both sides had agreed to a temporary ceasefire late yesterday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in Geneva. Teams from the ICRC and its partner, the Syrian Red Crescent, were ready to go into Homs as soon as possible, pending final arrangements. "Fighting has been raging for more than ten days between the Syrian army and armed opposition groups in several neighbourhoods of Homs city," said Béatrice Mégevand-Roggo, the ICRC's regional head of operations. Hundreds of civilians are stuck in the old city of Homs, unable to leave and find refuge in safer areas, because of the ongoing armed confrontations. Pro-opposition Homs residents said rebels and troops were still locked in fierce battles yesterday evening in the neighbourhoods the ICRC planned to enter. "They are still firing mortars and missiles into the city and there is heavy fighting in Al-Qussoor, Al-Qarabis and Al-Khalidiya," said activist Abu Yazen. Homs has been at the centre of the 15-month revolt against Mr Assad and became the focus of world concern in February and March, when opposition-held neighbourhoods endured weeks of government bombardments and sniper fire in which hundreds were killed. A Homs resident said a similar evacuation agreement was reached a few days ago but collapsed when shots were fired by Mr Assad's forces. The government said on Tuesday it was trying to evacuate civilians and blamed rebel fighters for obstructing efforts to get people out. In other action, rebels stormed an army barracks in the north-western province of Latakia overnight on Tuesday and killed at least 20 soldiers, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The rebels had captured some soldiers, including a colonel, and seized machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, it said. Latakia, a Mediterranean coastal province and home to Syria's main port, was relatively free of fighting until the past month. As the action unfolded in Syria, world leaders aired their differences over the conflict at the G20 summit at the Mexican resort of Los Cabos. US president Barack Obama said Mr Assad, whose family have ruled Syria for four decades, had lost all legitimacy and that it was impossible to conceive of any solution that left him in power. But Russian president Vladimir Putin said: "We believe that nobody has the right to decide for other nations who should be brought to power, who should be removed from power." The outside world is deeply divided in its response to the increasingly sectarian conflict in Syria that threatens to become a proxy war for regional powers. Western nations and their Sunni Muslim allies in the Gulf and Turkey are intent on Mr Assad's overthrow but are wary of direct intervention, while Russia, China and Shiite Iran - Mr Assad's strategic ally - have protected him from a tougher international response.