1,022 evacuate Damascus' neighborhood under fresh deal

As many as 1,022 people evacuated a northern Damascus' neighborhood on Monday under a fresh deal with the government, local media reported.

As many as 568 rebels were among those evacuated from Damascus' northern neighborhood of Barzeh as the rest were their families, said al-Watan online newspaper.

The evacuees will head toward the rebel-held province of Idlib in northwestern Syria and the town of Jarablus in the northern countryside of Aleppo province.

The evacuation process will last till Thursday, with the total number of evacuees is estimated at 1,700, including 700 rebels.

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.

Meanwhile, the state TV said 50 of the evacuees are originally from Idlib and will be returned to that province as well.

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.

But 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.

While the evacuation from Barzeh is a new deal, some Nusra militants have started evacuating the Yarmouk Camp of Palestinian refugees south of Damascus, as part of the second stage of evacuation process that started last month from four besieged Syrian towns, namely the pro-government towns of Kafraya and Foa in Idlib, and the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya.

The second stage of last month's deal will continue with the evacuation of the Nusra militants from Yarmouk and nearby areas in southern Damascus.

A well-informed source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the Nusra militants evacuating the Yarmouk Camp were brought to Barzeh to evacuate in the same convoy with the Barzeh militants.

All these evacuations of rebels and their families as well as sympathizers will help secure the government grip on the capital and its surroundings. Endit