Syria says it’s ready to evacuate besieged families

Syria’s government says it is ready to evacuate civilians besieged in the rebellious central city of Homs without preconditions.

A Foreign Ministry statement carried Tuesday by the state-run news agency SANA blames “armed terrorist groups” of obstructing evacuation efforts coordinated with the U.N. observers’ mission and local authorities.

U.N. mission chief Maj. Gen. Robert Mood demanded Sunday that warring parties allow the evacuation of women, children and sick people endangered by fighting in Homs and other combat zones.

Activists say around 1,000 families have been trapped by ongoing government assaults against rebel-controlled areas of Homs.

The Syrian government regularly refers to the rebels as terrorists.