30 rebels surrender to Syrian army after evacuating Harasta

DAMASCUS, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 30 rebels surrendered to the Syrian army after evacuating the Harasta city in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta area, said the War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, on Wednesday.

The surrendering rebels reached the humanitarian corridor established recently by the Syrian army near the Water Resources facility in Harasta, said the report.

It added that as many as 1,500 rebels and 6,000 civilians, largely of the rebels' families, are expected to leave Harasta on Thursday in two batches.

The evacuees will leave toward rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib, the report added.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said as many as 140 families evacuated Harasta on Wednesday.

The families evacuated toward government-controlled areas in Damascus after a corridor was opened between both areas, said the observatory.

This comes as rebels from Harasta, which is largely under the control of Ahrar al-Sham militiamen, were supposed to evacuate positions in that area recently.

The pro-government al-Watan online newspaper said the Ahrar al-Sham rebels could leave Harasta soon after declaring the acceptance of their evacuation.

A day earlier, the Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar said the planned evacuation of rebels is awaiting consensus among the militiamen in that area after an agreement was recently reached.

The deal for the evacuation of rebels from Harasta should have seen light two days ago, but the rebels didn't honor the agreement, Haidar said.

The minister said all measures are ready for the evacuation of the militants from Harasta.

"Everything is ready and the starting point begins with the rebels and this could happen at any moment and it could also be hindered like it happened for the first time," he noted.

Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, poses the last threat to the capital due to its proximity to government-controlled neighborhoods east of Damascus and ongoing mortar attacks that target residential areas in the capital, pushing people over the edge.

Four major rebel groups are currently positioned inside Eastern Ghouta, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

The UN humanitarian agencies have sounded the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation for 400,000 people in that region.

But with the progress of the Syrian army, which captured 80 percent of Eastern Ghouta in the recent days, thousands of civilians are evacuating their areas in Eastern Ghouta on daily basis, seeking refuge in government-run shelters, while condemning the rebels' presence in their areas. Enditem