Rebels quit stronghold

SYRIAN state media say the largest rebel group in the suburbs of Damascus has begun evacuating its last stronghold after seven years of war.

But the rebels refused to say whether they had surrendered, and it was unclear who was on board a dozen buses seen leaving the town.

Residents trapped inside Douma expressed fear that further foot-dragging could provoke another major government offensive, like the one that killed an estimated 1600 people across the eastern Ghouta suburbs in February and March.