110,000 civilians evacuate Damascus' Eastern Ghouta

DAMASCUS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 110,000 civilians have so far evacuated the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta area since earlier this month, state news agency SANA reported on Sunday.

The Syrian army secured the evacuation of civilians as the number increases on a daily basis since the evacuation started in mid-March.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights placed the number of civilians leaving Eastern Ghouta at 140,000.

This comes amid ongoing evacuation of rebels and their families from key areas in central Ghouta.

The observatory recently said the Syrian army captured 90 percent of Eastern Ghouta as part of a military operation that has started late last month.

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, where activists said around 1,000 people have been killed since late last month by the heavy bombardment and military showdown in areas of Eastern Ghouta. Enditem