Children play along a street amid damaged buildings in the besieged area of Homs January 27, 2014. The United States called on the Syrian government on Monday to allow aid convoys into the Old City of Homs, where "people are starving", and said that all civilians must be allowed to leave the besieged area freely. The evacuation of women and children from rebel-held Homs, as proposed by the Damascus delegation at peace talks, is "not sufficient" and not an alternative to badly-needed aid, it said. REUTERS/Thaer Al Khalidiya (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)