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Syria rebels and families leave besieged town after surrender

The deal comes as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad look to take complete control of the region.

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Syrian government forces oversee the evacuation by buses of rebel fighters and their families (Sana/AP)

Hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters and their relatives began evacuating a key besieged town in eastern Ghouta, marking the first such rebel surrender from the bombed-out region east of Damascus.

The departure of opposition fighters from the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group could serve as a blueprint for other rebels in other towns, bringing President Bashar Assad’s government closer to recapturing the entire territory following years of siege and relentless bombardment.

Syrian TV broadcast footage showing dozens of white buses that had been parked along a main highway for hours, with opposition fighters and civilians on board, start to drive out in a long convoy.

It said among the 1,580 evacuees were 413 gunmen.

More are expected to leave in coming days.

As rebels prepared to depart the town of Harasta, thousands of civilians streamed out of other areas in eastern Ghouta that were still being bombed by the government.

Syrian government soldiers, who were prisoners held by rebels, waving from a van after they were released (AP)
Syrian government soldiers, who were prisoners held by rebels, waving from a van after they were released (AP)

The government’s assault has sparked a tide of displacement in the Damascus suburbs as civilians try to escape the violence.

Some have moved deeper into the rebel-held enclave, while some 50,000 others have crossed the front-lines, to government authorities.

The government’s air and ground assault, which escalated on February 18, has seen the once sprawling territory at the doors of the capital shrink to three disconnected rebel-held islands.

The evacuation by Ahrar al-Sham rebels from Harasta, if it goes through, could serve as a blueprint for other rebels in other towns, bringing Mr Assad’s government closer to recapturing the entire territory.

The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders said the advancing government forces had captured or destroyed 19 of the 20 hospitals the group was supporting just one week ago.

It said medical staff were fleeing the approaching front lines.

Rebels hold just 20% of the eastern Ghouta territory they held one month ago, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

But that territory includes several densely populated residential zones including Douma, the largest town in eastern Ghouta.

The Observatory said some 4,000 people evacuated Douma since Wednesday.

The Russian military said more than 5,000 people left eastern Ghouta.

Rebels and the government exchanged 18 prisoners ahead of the Harasta evacuation, according to pro-government media.

The 13 men released by the Syrian rebels identified themselves to the media outside Harasta as soldiers and civilians attached to the Syrian army, who were captured by rebels in the fighting for Harasta.

Crying in relief, they thanked God, the Syrian army and Mr Assad for their freedom.

The deal for Harasta will see 1,500 rebels and 6,000 civilians leave to a rebel-held province in northwest Syria, according to the state-affiliated Military Media Centre.

Monther Fares, a spokesman for the rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham, confirmed that his group’s fighters were preparing to depart.

Syrian soldiers take selfies with Syrian President Bashar Assad, centre, as he visits his troops near Ghouta on Sunday (AP)
Syrian soldiers take selfies with Syrian President Bashar Assad, centre, as he visits his troops near Ghouta on Sunday (AP)

But the arrangement leaves other fighters for the Failaq al-Rahman group still inside.

They government is threatening to move on them if they do not also agree to depart.

State-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV cast the deal as a victory for the country.

Its correspondent Rabieh Dibeh said the government would restore its authority over Harasta once the “terrorists” left the town. He said defectors from the army would be ordered to rejoin the service.

Critics say it is a formula for displacement that legitimises the government’s brutal siege tactics that have deprived hundreds of thousands of civilians of food and medicines and subjected them to a half-decade of violence.

Numerous, top UN officials have likened the tactics to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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