An early rebel stronghold that ended up under siege for a solid four years of the Syrian Civil War, the Damascus suburb of Daraya has finally been evacuated today under a deal between government forces and rebels to resolve the situation, allowing everyone out of the area.
The evacuation puts an effective end to fighting in the western Ghouta region, as it was the last rebel holdout. Some 700 rebel gunmen were evacuated in the dal and are being taken to the rebel-held Idlib Province. An estimated 4,000 civilians will be sheltered in an area further south.
The deal was made between the rebels and the government, which didn’t make the UN happy, since they like to be the ones brokering such deals. They officially expressed “concern” over the deal, saying they weren’t consulted at all on the matter.
The deal marked a considerable victory for the Syrian government is securing the area south of the capital, but rebels were defiant while being evacuated, vowing they would return some day to take over the rest of the country.