Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government after four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins.
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Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a almost three-year siege.
“The Syrian army completely controls Daraya and has entered all of the town. There isn’t a single armed man there”, the source told AFP of the insurgents, speaking on condition of anonymity. Under the terms of the deal, around 700 gunmen will be allowed safe exit to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken temporarily to a shelter south of Darayya.
It broadcast footage of army vehicles combing the streets of the town, which was one of the first to rise up against the regime in Syria’s five-year-old revolt.
Their failure to reach an overall deal highlighted the increasingly complex situation on the ground in Syria – including new Russian-backed Syrian government attacks on opposition forces, the intermingling of some of those opposition forces with an al-Qaida affiliate not covered by the truce and the surrender of Daraya – as well as deep divisions and mistrust dividing Washington and Moscow. An estimated 8,000 people remain in the town, despite a government siege lasting four years and regular regime bombardment. Government and opposition forces negotiated an agreement to allow the evacuation to take place in safety.
Daraya is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege.
Meanwhile, the state-run al-Ekhbaria TV said Daraya has become empty of the rebels, and fully under the control of the Syrian army for the first time since 2012.
According to the United Nations, almost 600,000 live under siege across Syria, most surrounded by government forces.
Gaining control of Daraya is a boost for Mr Assad nd increases the security of his seat of power in the capital. Nine buses left Daraya on Friday.
Turkish police and firefighters are parked near a damaged police headquarters after a vehicle bomb killed 11 Turkish police officers and injured 45 people on Friday in Cizre, southeastern Turkey.
Dr. Mohamad Diaa, 27, a general practitioner in Daraya, said he would likely leave Saturday with the rebels heading to Idlib.
The United Nations envoy to Syria urged warring parties to state by Sunday whether they will commit to a 48-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Aleppo. “This is a deal that the rebels had to sign and we will now see civilians moved to Sahnaya – a town in Damascus governorate – under regime control”, he said.
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“With our blood and our souls, we sacrifice ourselves for you, O Bashar!” soldiers chanted of President Bashar al-Assad as the buses drove by.
