NAN-F-18
Evacuaion
Damascus, May 12, 2017 (Xinhua/NAN) Damascus Governor Bishr Sabban said on Friday that the second batch of rebels and their families have started evacuating Barzeh toward the rebel-held city of Idlib north-western Syria.
Sabban said that the evacuation of the second batch was supposed to take place on Thursday, but some differences emerged, causing the process to be pushed over to Friday.
There is no clear information on the number of the rebels and their families that will leave Barzeh on Friday.
According to previous estimates and info by sources, over 700 rebels and their families will leave on Friday.
On May 1, as many as 1,022 people, including 568 rebels, evacuated Barzeh toward Idlib and the northern city of Jarablus near the Turkish borders.
The rebels evacuating Barzeh are largely affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
The rebels’ evacuation from Barzeh is the latest in a string of rebel departures from the vicinity of the capital toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
Barzeh witnessed a “reconciliation” deal with the government in 2014, and the neighborhood remained largely calm, with some breaches to the deal happening every now and then by the al-Qaida-linked groups.
However, as the de-escalation zones’ deal went into effect last Saturday, with Idlib being included as a safe zone, more rebels are opting to leave to that rebel-held area.
Other than the al-Qaida-linked groups, there are other rebel groups which want to reconcile with the government and remain in that neighborhood.
All these evacuations of rebels and their families as well as sympathisers will help secure the government grip on the capital and its surroundings. (Xinhua/NAN)
OYE/SH
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza