The Syrian army said Sunday (January 29th) it had recaptured a flashpoint area near Damascus that supplies water to the capital, AFP reported.
Wadi Barada had been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between regime and opposition forces that tested a fragile nationwide truce and left millions in Damascus facing water shortages.
The announcement, via state television, came a day after the army entered the water pumping station in Wadi Barada for the first time in four years.
Under a deal with the authorities, opposition fighters can choose to stay in the area but hand over their weapons, or leave to the northern province of Idlib.
Hundreds of opposition fighters began to leave Wadi Barada on Sunday for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Around 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs have been without water since fighting intensified in the Wadi Barada area in late December.
Regime and allied forces have battled to regain control of Wadi Barada and the water installation at Ain al-Fijeh since opposition fighters overran the area before Christmas.
