500 people evacuated from restive Syrian hotspots

The evacuation of 500 people from restive hotspots was completed at dawn Thursday, after the process started a day earlier, a military source said.

The 500 people, including disarmed rebels and their families, left the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya in the northern countryside of the capital Damascus as well as the towns of Kafraya and Foa in the northwestern province of Idlib, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Started on Wednesday afternoon, the evacuation was operated under the supervision of the UN and other humanitarian organizations, such as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

All the convoy vehicles first reached the town of Qalat al-Madiq, the rendezvous point for the swap, in the central province of Hama at dawn Thursday.

Afterwards, the buses carrying wounded men and their families from Kafraya and Foa arrived in the coastal city of Latakia, while the rebels and their families from Zabadani and Madaya reached the rebel-held areas in Idlib.

The swap is expected to take place in those four towns, as part of a humanitarian deal to alleviate the suffering of the besieged people.

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