Rebels, civilians leave town after four-year siege
DARAYA, Syria — Escorted by armed troops, dozens of insurgents and their families left this war-wrecked suburb of the Syrian capital Friday as part of a forced evacuation deal struck with the government to end a four-year siege and aerial campaign that has left the area in ruins.
The capitulation by rebel forces in Daraya, an early bastion of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, provides another boost for his forces amid a stalemate in the fight for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
It also improves security around Assad’s seat of power, pacifying an entire region southwest of Damascus that once was a backbone of the rebellion. Daraya was the final remaining rebel holdout in the region known as western Ghouta — and the closest to the capital.
The mass relocation of the suburb’s residents reflects the government’s ongoing military strategy to break up Sunni population areas, weakening the rebellion against it. It also highlights concerns about the forced displacement of members of the Sunni majority, seen by some as a government policy to strengthen its base and create a corridor made up of its minority supporters.
After the deal struck late Thursday, Daraya’s rebels began evacuating in government buses, a process expected to take several days. Around 700 gunmen are to be allowed safe passage to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, and some 4,000 civilians will be taken to temporary shelter in government-controlled Kisweh, south of Daraya.
The U.N., which said it was not consulted about the plan, expressed concern over the evacuation, saying it was imperative that those participating do so voluntarily.
Meanwhile in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, had “achieved clarity” on a path toward restoring a truce in Syria, but details remained to be worked out.
Kerry said the “vast majority” of technical discussions on steps to reinstate the cease-fire and improve humanitarian access had been completed during Friday’s talks, and experts would try to finalize the unresolved steps in the coming days.
As the first white government bus carrying evacuees emerged from Daraya carrying mostly women and children, Syrian army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans. Inside, armed troops guarded the doors as the women tried to hide their faces. Nine buses left Daraya.
One of Daraya’s fighters, Tamam Abouel Kheir, posted a video message saying, “We are forced to leave. But we will return, our nation.”
The post included pictures of his loved ones and a photo of a group of young men visiting the Daraya cemetery to pay their respects to the hundreds who died in the fighting. “If only we could take the tombs of our martyrs with us,” he wrote.
Dr. Mohamad Diaa, a 27-year-old general practitioner in Daraya, said he likely would leave today with the rebels heading to Idlib. “Today married civilians and families. Tomorrow, the rest of the shabab leave,” he said, using Arabic slang for young men.
His family left Syria long before, but he chose to stay behind, Diaa said, giving only his first and middle names because he feared for his safety. He said he hoped the presence of the Red Crescent would be enough to prevent the government from arresting the evacuating rebels.