Evacuation to begin of rebel-held Damascus suburb

Buses entered the Damascus suburb of Daraya on Friday to evacuate civilians and rebels from the rebel-held area, a monitoring group said, after a deal reached between fighters and the government looked set to end a four-year-long siege.

"The buses which are due to evacuate the rebels and civilians started to enter the city after all obstacles were removed from the roads closed since 2012," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told journalists. "Thousands of civilians will be moved to housing centres in Qudusaya and al-Kiswa in Damascus' countryside.

Later on, rebels estimated at 700 will be allowed to take their families and move to the north-western Idlib province," the Britain-based Observatory said.

On Thursday, a regime negotiator, who asked not to be named, told journalists some 3,500 civilians and rebel fighters will leave the suburb of Daraya under the deal and be bussed to the rebel-held city of Idlib.

Another 4,000 civilians would move to a different Damascus suburb, he added. Daraya only received its first aid convoys in June this year after government ally Russia joined Western powers in setting a deadline for humanitarian access to the besieged area. The town's residents were suffering from severe shortages and malnutrition prior to the aid deliveries, according to local activists.

The Syrian opposition accuses the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of using siege and starvation tactics to wear down rebel strongholds. But the latest deal is likely to be seen as a success for the government's much-criticised tactics. It also leaves government forces well placed to secure the key Mezzeh military airport.    (dpa)

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