According the Associated Press, Syrian rebels and government forces have agreed upon a ten-day truce in the embattled area of Waar in Homs.
This is considered a setback for the opposition fighters.
Activist Beibars al-Tilawi told the AP that the rebels were outgunned, and that the experience of fighters once holed up in Homs' Old City was instructive: the area was destroyed, thousands of civilians were killed or forced to flee, and ultimately rebels negotiated their surrender in May 2014.
"They want to prevent the Al-Waar area from military action, so it won't be like the old city of Homs, where in the end, negotiations and diplomacy solved the problem," Al-Tilawi told the Associated Press.
He went on to say the rebels may end up surrendering the area over to government forces or remain there under a more lasting deal. Both approaches have been employed in other parts of Syria in the past.
However, the truce will allow for food and other essential items to enter the rebel-held area as government forces have been blockading it for roughly 20 months.
It remains unknown how many civilians remain in the area.
