Towns’ populations swopped

BEIRUT: Syrian government and rebel forces evacuated thousands of people on Friday from a cluster of besieged towns, starting one of the most sensitive population swops of the country’s six-year war.

President Bashar Assad’s government has used siege warfare tactics to subdue restive towns throughout the conflict, cutting rebel supply lines and civilian access to food until the rebels agree to surrender.

Opposition officials have accused the government of using the blockades to force demographic change along sectarian lines.

The departures marked the first stage in an evacuation that will see 30 000 Syrians switch between rebel- and government-held areas, as part of a complex deal brokered by Qatar and Iran.

In Syria’s south, the opposition-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani had been surrounded by government and Lebanese Hezbollah forces. In the north, Fouaa and Kefraya, the only towns besieged by rebel forces, had been blockaded by Islamist militants.

On Friday morning, Madaya’s residents said they had boarded the evacuation buses in tears. But after years of grinding siege, no one interviewed believed that holding out was an option.

The governor of Damascus, Alaa Ibrahim, said the government would restore control over Madaya and Zabadani once it was satisfied that no armed men remained.

Damascus holds the upper hand against rebels in the west and has negotiated other surrender deals from a position of strength.

While talks often begin with extensive demands from the rebels, these have been whittled down by repeated government air strikes, as well as pressure from civilians. – Washington Post