The implementation of a deal to evacuate four besieged Syrian towns has been delayed over last-minute negotiations, AFP reported Tuesday (April 4th).

The evacuation of more than 30,000 people from the towns of Fuaa, Kafraya, Madaya and Zabadani was scheduled to start Tuesday.

But both the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and one of the regime's point-people on the deal said it had been delayed.

Fuaa and Kafraya are regime-held villages in the otherwise opposition-held province of Idlib, while Madaya and Zabadani are opposition enclaves surrounded by regime forces in Damascus province.

The Observatory said residents in all four towns had expressed reservations about the evacuations, which would probably take place later in the week.

Negotiations were also ongoing about the status of Madaya and Zabadani after the evacuation, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

"The issue is whether the civilians will leave, because some want to stay, and whether the regime forces will enter Madaya and Zabadani in full, or there will be an agreement just to raise the flag," he told AFP.

All 16,000 residents of Fuaa and Kafraya are expected to leave under the deal, which prompted resistance from locals, the Observatory said.