A Syrian Army general told reporters in Daraya that around 300 families of opposition fighters would leave the town on Friday, and in total around 700 fighters and 4,000 civilians would be evacuated by Saturday.
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Rebel forces from Daraya will be taken to the northern province of Idlib, held by the Army of Conquest, a coalition of armed anti-government groups.
Pro-Syrian government al-Mayadeen TV reported that 45 government buses would participate in what it called a four-day operation to evacuate all remaining individuals from Daraya.
Insurgents and government forces agreed on Thursday to evacuate Dayaya, which the Syrian army has surrounded since 2012.
Civilians should be relocated only if their safety could be guaranteed and it was on a voluntary basis, they said.
“Mr Egeland’s boss, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, echoed his comments, saying Russian Federation was on board but they were waiting for others parties to agree: “. we are ready, trucks are ready and they can leave any time we get that message”.
Darayya, once home to 78,000 people and thought to be the site where Paul the Apostle had his conversion on the road to Damascus, was one of the first areas near the capital to join anti-government uprisings and became a byword of the opposition to the rule of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
Activist Hussam Ayash said residents were “trying to absorb the shock” of suddenly having to leave. The end of the siege will also free up regime troops to fight rebel forces elsewhere near Damascus.
Daraya is part of “Rural Damascus”, a province that includes the capital’s suburbs and farmland. Four years of fighting has left its toll on everything here.
Daraya’s local council said on its official Facebook page that civilians would be taken to the government-held town of Hrajela in Western Ghouta, outside the capital.
Reporting from Geneva, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays said the Syrian government’s “starvation of surrender policy has actually worked because they have now managed to close down Daraya and remove everyone from Daraya”.
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.
Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. The Syrian government denies using barrel bombs.
The U.N.’s humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass.
Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content – we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. “It’s hard, but we have no choice”, he said.
“Our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable”, he said on Thursday night, ahead of the evacuations. Last week its only hospital was hit, rebels and aid workers said.
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While Kerry said this week that technical teams from both sides were close to the end of their discussions, US officials indicated it was too early to say whether an agreement was likely.
