Evacuations underway in 4 districts of war-torn Syria

By Mohamed Misto

ANKARA

The process of evacuating thousands of civilians and fighters from besieged parts of Syria -- in line with an earlier agreement between Bashar al-Assad’s regime and opposition forces -- is underway, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground in Syria.

The agreement, hammered out between the two sides on March 30, calls for the evacuation of civilians from four besieged districts: Madaya, Al-Zabadani, Kefraya and Al-Fuaa.

Madaya and Al-Zadabani, both of which are located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Damascus, are currently encircled by regime forces. Kefraya and Al-Fuaa -- both in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province -- remain surrounded by opposition forces.

Along with the evacuations, last month’s agreement calls for a nine-month cessation of hostilities and the delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

On Friday, buses set out from the regime-besieged Madaya and Zabadani carrying around 2,350 passengers, including almost 1,000 opposition fighters.

The buses are heading towards opposition-held Idlib, where evacuees will be accommodated in camps set up in the province’s northern countryside.

Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has set up tents and prepared aid packages in Idlib city for the civilian arrivals.

Selim Tosun, IHH’s Syria spokesman, told Anadolu Agency the evacuees would be housed in “safe zones”.

“Our teams set up tents for 40 families in the first place,” he said from Hatay in southern Turkey. “Some of the families will settle with their relatives in Idlib.”

Meanwhile, buses carrying some 4,000 regime loyalists set out from Idlib’s Kefraya and Al-Fuaa districts towards Aleppo. A combined total of at least 8,000 people -- including civilians and troops -- are ultimately expected to leave the two Shia-majority districts.

According to reports, some 20 areas across the war-torn country remain under siege by regime forces.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, as many as 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed -- and millions more displaced -- as a result of the conflict, according to UN officials.

* Anadolu Agency's Cem Genco contributed to this report from Hatay.