Daraya has been out of the government control since 2012 and was later laid under a tight siege by the Syrian government forces.
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Inside the town, residents bid farewell to each other, as well as their homes and neighbourhoods, a local rebel fighter told AFP. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
On Thursday, Syrian state news agency SANA announced a deal had been struck for the evacuation of civilians and fighters in the town.
The U.K. -based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that per the terms of an agreement with the government, some 700 rebel fighters and their families will be allowed to move to Idlib province, almost 200 miles north.
The rebels who controlled Daraya belonged to two rebel groups: Ajnad al-Sham and the Martyrs of Islam, groups allied with the Army of Conquest.
The evacuation would start Friday and last for two or three days, according to the head of the biggest rebel groups in Daraya. Another 4,000 civilian men and women would be transferred to shelters along with their families, it said.
It was one of the first places to see peaceful protests against Assad’s rule, and fought off repeated attempts to retake it by government forces as the conflict escalated into civil war.
“We got the freedom of getting civilians to leave freely to liberated areas or wherever they want”, Abu Jamal said.
The council said that fighters and their families would be taken to northern Syria, escorted by the Red Crescent. It is located just a 15-minute drive from central Damascus and is even closer to the regime’s Mazzeh air base.
Having been under siege for four years, the deal has brought an end to the longest stand-off in the war, which broke out in 2011 in the context of the “Arab Spring” revolution.
“Of course there is fear that the regime will go back on its word”, said Hytham Ghazal, manager of the humanitarian office in Daraya. Heavy weapons will be seized by the regime.
According to the United Nations, almost 600,000 live under siege across Syria, most surrounded by government forces, although rebels and jihadists also use the tactic.
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Rebels agreed to give up their positions under a deal unveiled late Thursday, yielding to the years-long pressure.
