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Militants, residents leaving besieged Damascus suburb of Darayya: Report

Saturday, 27 August 2016 3:26 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 27 August 2016 3:34 PM ]

Civilians and militants, who were evacuated from the besieged Damascus suburb of Darayya, arrive in the militant-controlled city of Idlib on August 27, 2016. © Reuters

Foreign-backed militants are being evacuated from a besieged suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus, under an agreement struck with the government.

Some 300 militants along with their families have already arrived in the city of Idlib in the northwest.

The arrivals were the first since the evacuation of the town began on Friday under an agreement between the government and the militants.

According to Syria’s official news agency, SANA, tens of buses entered the city on Saturday to evacuate more people as well as some 400 other militants.

Some 4,000 of Darayya residents would be evacuated and then relocated to makeshift centers scattered in Damascus neighborhoods and surrounding areas, the report added.

This photo shows Syrian citizens gather with their belonging as they prepare to evacuate from Darayya, a besieged Damascus suburb, on August 26, 2016. © AP

This comes as Syrian army units have stepped up their clean-up operations against Takfiri militants both inside and around Darayya over the past few days, pounding terrorist positions and inflicting heavy losses on militant ranks.

Darayya has been under siege since November 2012. It has become one of the most heavily-bombed militant-held areas during Syria's conflict.

Since March 2011, Syria has been gripped by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies.

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict.

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