Syria rebels lay down weapons

CHAOS: FLAG RAISED OVER DOUMA, THOUSANDS LEAVE TOWN

Chemical attack forced them to agree to deal, says leader.

Wafideen Checkpoint, Syria

Rebels in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta surrendered their heavy weapons and their leader left the enclave, a monitor said yesterday, signalling the end of one of the bloodiest assaults of Syria’s seven-year war.

The Syrian flag was raised above the central mosque in Douma, the town where the regime is accused of carrying out a chemical attack that sparked threats of Western military action.

US President Donald Trump was mulling his options and British Prime Minister Theresa May called a Cabinet meeting yesterday, as the Syrian army braced for Western strikes, hiding assets and deserting key buildings.

Jaish al-Islam, which has controlled Eastern Ghouta’s main town for years, had balked at a Russian-brokered deal like those that saw other factions bused to northern Syria.

The group’s political chief said it was a chemical attack by the regime that forced them to accept Russia’s terms and evacuate their former bastion.

“Of course, the chemical attack is what pushed us to agree” to a withdrawal from Douma, said Yasser Dalwan.

Syrian regime forces had yet to take over Douma but, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the rebels handed over their heavy weapons.

Their top leader Issam Buwaydani boarded a convoy out of Ghouta with thousands of other fighters and their relatives, it said.

“Not all the leadership has left yet. Departures are ongoing,” Dalwan said.

Chaos and confusion prevailed in the streets of Douma, where civilians appeared to have very little information on the latest political developments.

Many residents were preparing to take what should be some of the last buses leaving the region to head to parts of northern Syria still under rebel control. –