Delegates from Syria's government and the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad are in Geneva for a second round of peace talks.
U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is mediating the negotiations resuming Monday. The talks follow an initial round last month that ended with little progress, but one that Brahimi called "a modest beginning" to build on.
Wide gaps remain on issues ranging from a potential transitional government to access for humanitarian aid in besieged areas.
The status of civilians in war-battered Homs was part of the initial round of talks, and last week Syria reached a three-day cease-fire agreement with the United Nations to allow aid into the city.
The governor of Homs, Talal Barazi, said 600 people were evacuated Sunday from rebel-held areas. Workers from the United Nations and Syrian Red Crescent rescued the large group.
Even so, eyewitness accounts said a number of women and children trying to leave the city were killed and wounded after being hit by mortar shells.