1st LD: 2,289 evacuate key Damascus' eastern neighborhood
Xinhua, May 14, 2017 Adjust font size:
A total of 2,289 people, including 1,058 rebels, evacuated the eastern Qaboun neighborhood of the capital Damascus on Sunday, a day after the army wrested control of the key neighborhood, state TV reported.
The Sunday evacuees of rebels and their families left Qaboun for the northwestern province of Idlib and the northern city of Jarablus, a day after they surrendered to the army in exchange for access to the rebel-held province.
The state-run media outlet said 500 rebels chose to remain in Qaboun after surrendering their weapons to the authorities, while the evacuees are the ones of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front which doesn't want to reconcile with the government, but to join their fellows in Idlib.
A day earlier, Syrian army recaptured the Qaboun neighborhood after losing it to the rebels in 2012, a military source told Xinhua.
The victory came four months after a military campaign by the Syrian army, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Qaboun is extremely strategic for the Syrian army as it's located on the road connecting Damascus with the central province of Homs and other key provinces in northern Syria.
The neighborhood, also one of the entrances of the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, has several big tunnels which the rebels used to smuggle their weaponry and fighters to different parts of Ghouta.
Qaboun was also the launching pad of attacks on Damascus, with the largest and most vicious one happening in March.
In 2014, a truce was reached in Qaboun but quickly fell apart.
The source said the rebels in Qaboun surrendered and will be evacuated to Idlib and Jarablus, both rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
The capture of Qaboun came a day after the rebels in the nearby neighborhoods of Barzeh and Tishreen evacuated.
With the three neighborhoods returning to the government, the remaining areas are part of the "de-escalation zones" deal, which means that there will be no further attacks on the capital from that area. Endit