Iraq News

Syria opposition fighters leave area south of Damascus

The Syrian regime on Tuesday (March 13th) evacuated several hundred opposition fighters from a small pocket they had held for years south of Damascus and bussed them to the north of the country, AFP reported.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed the evacuation from the district of Qadam, with an estimated 300 fighters later arriving in Idlib province.

"An agreement reached in September 2017 between the regime and Islamist factions, including Tahrir al-Sham, was implemented today," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The other main group present in Qadam was Ajnad al-Sham.

"At least 1,300 people, including fighters with their relatives, have been transferred," sad Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

An official from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Damascus confirmed the organisation was involved in evacuation proceedings from Qadam but could not provide numbers.

An AFP correspondent saw some of the fighters coming off buses in Qalaat al-Madiq, a town on the southern edge of Idlib province.

The deal that saw the regime reclaim Qadam could pave the way for further evacuations from small pockets that still escape it, including the Damascus neighbourhoods of Jobar, Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk.

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