BEIRUT // The Damascus suburb of Daraya was back under government control on Saturday following the evacuation of rebel forces, their families and other civilians after four years of siege.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, announced, “The Syrian army completely controls Daraya and has entered all of the town. There isn’t a single armed man there.”
His words were confirmed by Syria state TV which reported that the evacuation of Daraya — which was expected to go on until Sunday — had been completed in 24 hours and that the suburb was clear of gunmen. Some 700 gunmen and 4,000 civilians left the suburb in a fleet of buses bound for Idlib province in northern Syria which is under rebel control.
“The Daraya file is now closed after the evacuation of all the civilians, armed men and their families under the agreement” the TV broadcast announced, showing footage of army vehicles patrolling the streets.
Around another 8,000 civilians were being transported to government-run reception centres pending resettlement elsewhere.
The loss of Daraya is a bitter blow for the forces of the Syrian opposition. Situated only 15 minutes from Damascus, Daraya was one of the first towns in Syria to rise up against the government of Bashar Al-Assad’s and became a symbol of the Syrian resistance. It was the last bastion of resistance to president Bashar Al Assad in the western Ghouta region, south-west of Damascus.
But after being surrounded by loyalist forces for four years and subjected to constant heavy bombardment, life in Daraya had deteriorated to intolerable levels. Only one aid convoy carrying food has ever reached Daraya and that was in late 2012 and even then, distribution was halted because of bombardment. Government and opposition forces negotiated an agreement to allow the evacuation to take place in safety.
The government has adopted siege tactics in several areas with considerable success. Long sieges have compelled opposition forces to abandon territory, which has encouraged the government to adopt “surrender or starve” tactic even more widely. Rebel fighters pulled out of Syria’s third city Homs last year under a similar evacuation deal.
Gaining control of Daraya is a boost for Mr Assad nd increases the security of his seat of power in the capital.
Meanwhile in Syria’s second city, Aleppo, a bloody battle was in full flow. Activists said at least 15 civilians were killed when helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a wake for the children killed in earlier air strikes on the city.
Hospital officials in Aleppo said the death toll from the two barrel bombs dropped n the Bab Al-Nairab neighbourhood was likely to rise. Mohammed Khandakani, a hospital volunteer, said one of the injured told him a barrel bomb was dropped as people paid their condolences for 11 children killed on Thursday in an air raid in the same neighbourhood. Minutes later, Khandakani said another barrel bomb was dropped, injuring an ambulance driver, and hampering rescue efforts.
The Syrian government denies it has ever deployed barrel bombs but the Syrian army and its allies, the Russians, are the only forces operating helicopters over Aleppo.
The United Nations envoy to Syria urged warring parties to state by Sunday whether they will commit to a 48-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Aleppo.
Staffan de Mistura has led global calls for the temporary truce that the UN and aid groups like the Red Cross say is desperately needed by civilians trapped in the midst of brutal fighting between regime and opposition forces.
Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, has endorsed the plan.
* Agence France-Presse