Some 4,000 rebels, families leave Eastern Ghouta in fresh evacuations
  • 6 years ago
Just under four thousand rebels and civilians fled a ravaged pocket of Syria's Eastern Ghouta on Sunday.
They follow about a thousand residents who left the day before as part of an agreement reached between rebels and the Syrian army.
That deal, mediated by Syria's key ally Russia, is set to see some seven thousand residents leave three remaining pockets.
It was struck over the weekend after a rebel group declared a unilateral cease-fire to negotiate its withdrawal from the region.
Pro-Syrian forces have now gained control of about 90 percent of eastern Ghouta after five weeks of intense bombardment.
The conflict is reported to be the deadliest in Syria's seven-year civil war, with more than one and a half thousand civilians being killed.
Recommended