2nd LD-Writethru: 4 key areas in Damascus' Eastern Ghouta free of rebels: state media

DAMASCUS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The towns of Zamalka, Arbeen, Ayn Tarma and Jobar in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside have become empty of rebels on Saturday with the last batch leaving toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The four strategic towns of Eastern Ghouta are declared liberated, as the last batch of rebels and their families got on the buses leaving toward rebel-held areas in the north, according to the state media outlets.

The liberation of the towns will make the entire Eastern Ghouta free of rebels except for the district of Douma in the northern part of Eastern Ghouta.

SANA said that over 38 buses have become packed with 1,706 people, including 494 rebels.

The liberation constitutes a major step in declaring the entire Eastern Ghouta free of rebels, said SANA.

The army forces will be deployed in the four towns, after entering parts of them, as the state TV said the Syrian official flag is hoisted in Arbeen.

Earlier in the day, SANA said as many as 38,000 rebels and their families have evacuated central towns of Eastern Ghouta toward rebel-held areas in Idlib since the evacuation process started last Saturday.

The four towns are considered to be the most dangerous to the capital due to their proximity to eastern Damascus neighborhoods. The rebels in those areas have repeatedly attempted to infiltrate the capital from those areas and have launched countless mortar shells on the neighborhoods of Damascus.

After the four areas, only the district of Douma in the northern part of Eastern Ghouta remains under the Islam Army control amid ongoing negotiations mediated by the Russians for achieving similar agreement in Douma.

The pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the agreement of Douma could be included in the next hours.

This development came as the Syrian army has so far captured over 90 percent of Eastern Ghouta in an offensive that has been dragging on since 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.

Eastern Ghouta was controlled by four major rebel groups, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. Enditem