Syrian civilians bused from towns
BEIRUT — The Syrian government and rebels evacuated more than 7,000 people from four besieged towns Friday in the latest co-ordinated population transfer in Syria’s six-year-long civil war.
As diplomacy in Moscow focused on the U.S. airstrikes targeting the country, more than 2,350 people were bused out of the twin towns of Madaya and Zabadani near Damascus. Another 5,000 people were evacuated on 75 buses from northern rebel-beseiged towns of Foua and Kfraya, according to Abdul Hakim Baghdadi, a pro-government interlocutor who helped negotiate the transfer from the latter two towns.
“Honestly, when we left Madaya, I felt sadness, anger, and sorrow. But now, on the road, I don’t feel anything. I feel cold as ice,” said Muhammad Darwish, a resident bused out of Madaya, besieged by pro-government forces in the mountains west of the capital.
“There was no heating, no food, nothing to sustain our lives. We left so that God willing (the siege) may ease on those who remain,” said Ahmad Afandar, 19, another Madaya evacuee. His parents stayed behind.
Critics have denounced the deal as a forced rearrangement of the country’s population, with sectarian overtones. Through a deft policy of divide and conquer, Syrian President Bashar Assad has steered what started as a broad movement against his authority in 2011 into a choice between him and Sunni Islamist rule. Madaya and Zabadani are believed to now be wholly inhabited by Sunnis. The predominantly Shiite Foua and Kfraya have remained loyal to the Syrian government, while the surrounding Idlib province has come under hard-line Sunni, rebel rule.
The evacuation deal was brokered by Qatar, negotiating on behalf of the rebels, and Iran, on behalf of the government, in March.
When Friday’s evacuations are completed, they will be the first in a number of rounds stretching over two months to evacuate some 30,000 Syrians from besieged areas. Another 3,000 people are expected to be bused out of Foua and Kfraya on Friday evening, according to Baghdadi.
In Madaya, residents were given the option to stay and “reconcile” their status with government authorities. They will have to pledge allegiance to Assad’s government and swear off any dissent.