First rebels leave Syria enclave under Russia-brokered deal

Syrian rebels and their families began leaving Syria’s Eastern Ghouta on Thursday under the first evacuation deal in the shrinking opposition enclave outside Damascus.   

The agreement, announced on Wednesday and brokered by regime ally Russia, could empty one of three rebel-held pockets in the region and mark a major advance in government efforts to secure the nearby capital.   

It could also increase pressure on rebels to follow suit in the two other opposition-held pockets of the besieged enclave, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped under relentless bombardment.   

State television said around 1,824 people -- including 319 fighters -- had boarded buses from the Eastern Ghouta town of Harasta, until now held by the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group.   

A military source told AFP the rebels and accompanying civilians had boarded buses and were in a buffer zone, waiting to cross into regime-controlled territory.   

Another military source said around 2,000 people are expected to leave in total, including around 700 fighters on Thursday.   

Ahrar al-Sham spokesman Munzer Fares said the evacuations could last several days.   

They followed renewed air strikes in Ghouta early on Thursday which killed 20 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.   
HARASTA AFP March22, 2018