DHAKA: Six hundred people - mostly women, children and the elderly - have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Homs, according to non-governmental organisations.

They were brought out by humanitarian assistance teams on Sunday despite mortar attacks and shooting, reports Al-jazeera.

More civilians may be rescued as rebels and the Bashar al-Assad government have extended the ceasefire for another three days.

The evacuation of about 600 of the 3,000 trapped people came as representatives from both sides converged on Geneva, Switzerland, for new peace talks.

Sunday`s evacuation was the second after 83 people were brought out on Friday - the first day of the truce.

The Syrian Red Crescent said on Facebook "around 600 people evacuated today, registration is still ongoing. We managed to get 60 food parcels & 1500Kg of flour inside old city".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 611 were brought out - "210 women, 180 children, 91 men over 55 years old and 130 young men who surrendered to Syrian authorities under UN supervision".

It said the men "will be released soon".

Television footage showed women, children and elderly men getting off the evacuation buses.

They appeared visibly exhausted and frail, in a video broadcast by the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV channel.

Homs, much of which has been reduced to rubble, was dubbed "the capital of the revolution" by activists before an offensive in 2012 by regime forces recaptured much of the city.

BDST: 0918 HRS, FEB 10, 2014