UN demands immediate 'unhindered' humanitarian access to Syria By msnbc.com staff and news services Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET: The U.N. Security Council is deploring the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and calling on authorities there to grant U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos "unhindered access," according to The Associated Press. A statement -- the first on Syria to be approved by the council in seven months -- is significant because it requires the agreement of all 15 council members, including Russia and China, who last month vetoed two resolutions condemning the Syrian government's bloody crackdown and calling for President Bashar Assad to step down. While a U.N. statement is not legally binding on Syria, it does reflect the growing concern of the council about the impact of the year-old conflict on Syria's civilian population. Syrian rebels retreated Thursday from a neighborhood in Homs that they had held for months, saying they were running out of weapons and humanitarian conditions were catastrophic after almost four weeks of government bombardment. Graphic: The siege of Homs Within hours of the rebels' withdrawal, President Bashar Assad's government granted permission for the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr in Homs on Friday. Human rights workers have been appealing for access to Baba Amr for weeks. "The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent received today from the Syrian authorities the green light to enter Baba Amr tomorrow to bring in much-needed assistance including food and medical aid, and to carry out evacuation operations," spokesman Hicham Hassan told The Associated Press. Earlier, rebels told journalists that a few fighters had remained behind in the shattered quarter to cover the "tactical withdrawal" of their comrades. The withdrawal appeared to be an agreement between the two sides in order to avoid a showdown, the BBC reported. Syrian forces, which shelled Baba Amr earlier in the day despite world alarm at the plight of civilians trapped there, said they were in full control of the district, the BBC reported. The head of the Free Syrian Army, Col. Riyad Assad, told the BBC that government troops had moved in and were combing the area. A senior official in the FSA earlier told Reuters that rebels in Baba Amr were fending off more than 7,000 government troops. 'Whatever the cost' The 4th Armored Division, which was leading the assault on Homs, is commanded by Maher Assad, the president's younger brother, who has won a reputation for ruthlessness during the past year of revolt against the government. Msnbc.com staff, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.