Fighters evacuate near Damascus

BEIRUT — A rebel faction trapped by government forces outside the Syrian capital agreed to evacuate to northern Syria on Sunday as reports swirled of a larger agreement that would have the government retake full control of the eastern Ghouta region after seven years of revolt.

Fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman group left Douma on buses sent by the Syrian government to the rebel-held province of Idlib, SANA state news agency reported. About 1,300 fighters, activists, and civilians signed up to leave the town, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

It was the first organized evacuation of fighters from Douma, one of the earliest centers of the anti-government demonstrations that swept through the country in 2011. Security forces responded by putting the town and other suburbs around Damascus under siege, bombing hospitals and residential areas, and blockading it against food and medical relief. Douma is one of the last towns of the opposition around the capital to hold out against the government.

Later Sunday, a media outlet linked to the Syrian military reported that the powerful Army of Islam group also agreed to leave to north Syria, effectively transferring control of the town to Damascus. The deal, if true, would mark the end of a weeks-long push by the government to consolidate its control of the eastern Ghouta region just outside the capital. Opposition officials denied the reports.

Local activists say more than 100,000 civilians are trapped inside Douma, which suffered devastating damage during the latest government assault.