© AFPSyrian government troops stand guard as a bus carrying evacuees drives by from Darayya, outside Damascus.
Syrian forces have established full control over Darayya, a besieged suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus,
after militants and civilians were evacuated under a deal with the government. "The Syrian army completely controls Darayya. ... There isn't a single armed man there," a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Saturday.
"The Darayya file is now closed after the evacuation of all the civilians, armed men and their families under the agreement" reached on Thursday between the government and the militants, Syrian state television said. The television broadcast footage of army vehicles combing the streets of the town,
which has been under siege since November 2012.Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the second and final convoy of militants and civilians left Darayya on Saturday. The total number of evacuees is not yet clear.
Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported on Saturday that 4,000 civilians were to be directed to reception centers and at least 700 rebels escorted to the militant-held city of Idlib in northwest Syria. The arrivals were the first since the evacuation of the town just outside Damascus began on Friday under an agreement between the government and the militants.
Comment: The Russian Defense Ministry
reported that a total of 120 militants and 230 family members have voluntarily left Darayya and will begin their relocation in temporary housing in the Keisua settlement in the Damascus province.
According to yesterday's Russian Defense Ministry
bulletin: "Within the last 2 days,
over 1,800 people have been evacuated from the Darayya inhabited area (Damascus province) - those are civilians, militants who laid down their arms and members of their families."
UPDATE (August 31): A total of
1106 militants who refused to lay down arms were transferred to Idlib and allowed to carry small arms. 298 surrendered their weapons under amnesty and will now be reintegrated into Syria society (many will probably join the pro-government militias fighting Nusra and Daesh).
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