Deal to evacuate rebels from Damascus' Douma almost reached

DAMASCUS, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A deal for the evacuation of the Islam Army rebels from the Douma district in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside could be concluded soon, state news agency SANA reported on Friday.

While SANA has yet to give more details, negotiations between the Islam Army and the government through the mediation of the Russians have been ongoing for days to reach an agreement similar to other deals reached with other rebel groups in areas of Eastern Ghouta.

However, the negotiations are thorny as the Islam Army hasn't shown the same leniency as other rebel groups, due to its status, as it's more powerful than the other rebel groups which have been evacuating Eastern Ghouta in droves recently.

Also, Douma is the largest district in Eastern Ghouta and the most densely-populated among all.

Meanwhile, and as the reports started emerging about the deal, the Islam Army renewed on its official Twitter account its stance that no deal has yet been concluded.

It also renewed what it described as the forceful displacement of the people of Douma, citing the mass evacuation of rebels and civilians as well from Eastern Ghouta.

In other areas of Eastern Ghouta, as many as 143,000 civilians have evacuated their towns toward government-run shelters on the outskirts of Eastern Ghouta since mid-March.

Also, the rebels and their families have also been evacuating their areas in the central part of Eastern Ghouta since last Saturday, with the latest batch of 7,000 rebels and their families leaving on Thursday evening toward rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib.

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. Enditem