(VOVworld) - The UN Security Council on Thursday called on the Syria regime to speed up the removal of its chemical weapons stockpiles in the country to meet its committed deadline by the middle of this year. The Council President for February, Raimonda Murmokaite of Lithuania, said that Syria needs to quickly implement its commitments to the international community. She added that the chemical weapons must be transported to the port of Latakia in an effective and systematic manner.

In another development, Syria’s SANA news agency on Thursday reported that the UN and Syria have reached an agreement to allow humanitarian aids to arrive in the besieged areas of the central city of Homs and opened a safe corridor for civilians to leave the city. SANA said that the relevant Syrian agencies would provide the necessary humanitarian aid for around 2500 people, most of whom are women, children and the elderly stuck in Homs.