Government forces on Saturday retook control of Daraya near the Syrian capital after rebels and civilians were evacuated following a four-year siege by regime forces, a military source told AFP.
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Black smoke rose on the horizon caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers. Some 700 gunmen and 4,000 civilians left the suburb in a fleet of buses bound for Idlib province in northern Syria which is under rebel control.
The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad.
“The Syrian army completely controls Darayya”.
In June, authorities agreed to allow UN-supplied food deliveries into Daraya under a cessation of hostilities deal, but just one shipment of food aid has reached the town since then.
Supporters of the rebels on social media were quick to cite cowardice on the part of the rebel leadership, for handing over the suburb of Daraya to Assad’s forces. Rebels and a regime delegation signed a truce allowing civilians and fighters transportation out of the destroyed city. Fighters reportedly will be allowed to leave for rebel-held Idlib province, near the Turkish border, based on a deal reached with government representatives Thursday.
In several places, lengthy government sieges have prompted rebels to agree evacuation deals with the regime, leading activists to accuse Damascus of using “starve or surrender” tactics.
The letter, headlined “On napalm and starvation: An open letter to the world from the women of Daraya”, chronicles how the Syrian government has besieged and bombed the city, including utilising napalm, a chemical weapon banned by worldwide law.
His words were confirmed by Syria state TV which reported that the evacuation of Daraya – which was expected to go on until Sunday – had been completed in 24 hours and that the suburb was clear of gunmen.
One of Daraya’s fighters, Tamam Abouel Kheir, posted a video message saying, “We are forced to leave”.
Perched just a few miles from Assad’s presidential palace, rebel-held Darayya had long defied expectations of surrender that began when government forces blockaded the area in 2012.
“Our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable”, he said on Thursday night, ahead of the evacuations.
Syria’s government denies that it deploys barrel bombs, but their use has been widely attested by outside monitors, including the United Nations, whose Security Council condemned the dropping of incendiary devices past year. In August 2012, around 400 residents were killed by pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb following heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists.
The Syrian government denies it has ever deployed barrel bombs but the Syrian army and its allies, the Russians, are the only forces operating helicopters over Aleppo.
Ambulances as well as convoys from the Syrian Red Crescent were waiting at a government-held area of the town to evacuate. Last week its only hospital was hit, rebels and aid workers said.
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Diaa said Daraya’s residents were let down by the worldwide community and by rebel factions in Daraa and eastern Ghouta who did not come to their rescue.
