The Syrian army continued its offensive against rebel-held Eastern Ghouta Saturday, a day after an aid convoy delivered food to the hunger-stricken residents of the enclave despite heavy bombardment.
State television reported that government forces were advancing near Misraba and Mudeira in central Ghouta, at a point where it is close to cutting the enclave in two.
Nearly 950 civilians have been killed since Russia-backed government forces launched a blistering assault on the last opposition bastion near Damascus on 18 February.
Eastern Ghouta’s 400,000 inhabitants have lived under government siege since 2013 and the enclave – more than half of which has over the past three weeks been retaken by government forces – is home to numerous armed groups.
Apart from Islamist groups such as Jaish al-Islam, militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who are mostly linked to al-Qaeda, are also deployed there.
Syrian state television aired footage of a single bus carrying 13 “fighters” and family members out of the enclave through Al-Wafideen checkpoint, without giving their affiliation.
Some appeared to be young, while others wore hoodies to cover their heads and faces.
The limited operation came as the powerful Jaish al-Islam said HTS fighters would be evacuated to the northern province of Idlib, in an arrangement struck following consultations with the United Nations and other international players.
“It has been agreed that the first group of HTS members be released from the prisons of Jaish al-Islam … [and] moved to Idlib at their request,” Jaish al-Islam said.
HTS is the main force in Idlib, in Syria’s northwest and the last province outside government control.