UN aid convoy struck in Homs as Syrian violence rages

An aid convoy came under fire in a besieged rebel district of Homs on Saturday, threatening a United Nations-led operation to bring food and medicine to 2,500 people and evacuate civilians trapped by months of fighting in the Syrian city.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) said mortar fire landed close to its convoy and shots were fired at its trucks, wounding one of its drivers.

At least nine Red Crescent and U.N. vehicles were holed up in the city for several hours after dark when the explosions struck, but the team managed to pull out shortly before 10 p.m., leaving two damaged trucks, the Red Crescent said.

"Although the team was shelled and fired upon we managed to deliver 250 food parcels (and) 190 hygiene kits and chronic disease medicines," it said.

Syrian authorities blamed the attacks on rebels but opposition activists accused President Bashar Al-Assad's forces of carrying them out, as well as earlier mortar fire which delayed the start of the operation on Saturday morning.

In a statement, Syria's opposition National Coalition said the aid operation in Homs was no substitute for lifting the ongoing government siege on the rebel-held city, warning that the evacuation of civilians could be "a prelude to the regime destroying the city with the remaining residents trapped inside."

The violence threatens to unravel a humanitarian deal for Homs which was the first concrete result of talks launched two weeks ago in Geneva to try to end the country's civil war.

The conflict has killed 130,000 people, driven millions from their homes and devastated whole districts of Syrian cities – particularly Homs, a center of protest when the 2011 uprising against 40 years of Assad family rule first erupted.

At the Geneva peace talks, which resume on Monday, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has been pushing for agreement on aid deliveries and prisoner releases, hoping that progress on those issues could build momentum to address the far more contentious question of political transition.

But even the humanitarian talks have taken time and delivered only modest achievements, the first of which was the evacuation on Friday of 83 women, children and elderly men from the Old City. Aid workers said many showed signs of malnutrition.

Sunday is due to be the final day of a three-day ceasefire which Russia, a close supporter of Assad, said had been agreed to allow the aid to be brought in and civilians moved out.

Video footage of Saturday's incident published by activists showed eight white cars with U.N. markings and a truck stopped at a narrow street corner, already strewn with rubble.

A man with blood on his face was led into a nearby building, before a blast struck on the far side of the truck. It was not clear how much damage was caused by the explosion.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors violence in Syria and opposes Assad, said five people, including two rebel fighters, were killed and 20 wounded by mortar fire in Old Homs on Saturday.

Syria's opposition National Coalition said the aid operation in Homs was no substitute for lifting the siege on the rebel-held area, warning that the evacuation of civilians could be "a prelude to the regime destroying the city with the remaining residents trapped inside."

"It is vital to remember that the regime has used similar tactics in the past to change the demographics of some areas in Syria," the Coalition said in a statement. "It has used similar deals to buy time to strengthen its positions on the ground and to kill more civilians."

While the convoy was delivering food and medicine in Homs, humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian district of Yarmouk in south Damascus were suspended after clashes broke out there.