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Syria: 500 civilians to evacuate besieged areas

Xinhua, April 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

About 500 Syrian civilians are expected to be evacuated on Wednesday from hotspots besieged by both rebels and government forces, a military source told Xinhua.

An agreement was reached for the evacuation of 250 from Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa, which are besieged by the rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib, and in return, government forces will allow 250 civilians to leave the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya in the northern countryside of the capital Damascus.

The deal and its entire technicalities have been reached under the help of the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The evacuees are expected to leave within the next few hours, he added.

Kafraya, Foa, Zabadani and Madaya have witnessed several instances where conditional aid and evacuation of civilians took place over the past months.

The UN has repeatedly urged the warring parties in the Syrian conflict to lift the sieges and facilitate the flow of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies to civilians. Endit