Nusra, IS to leave south Damascus suburbs
Some 4,000 people, half of them jihadist fighters, will leave three besieged districts south of Syria’s capital at the weekend as part of a landmark ceasefire, sources told AFP on Friday.
Militants from the Islamic State jihadist group and its rival, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front, will reportedly quit the districts of Qadam, Hajar al-Aswad and the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk.
“An agreement was reached whereby 4,000 fighters and civilians, including members of al-Nusra and IS, would leave” the neighbourhoods on Saturday, one government official close to the negotiations said.
They would then be transported to the northern cities of Raqqa, held by IS, and Marea which is controlled by Islamists and Al-Nusra, the official said.
The second phase of the deal would see government institutions reopen in the neighbourhoods and “the necessities of daily life would be secured”, the official said.
It will be the first time in more than two years that market goods have been able to be sent in to the three southern districts, which have been under a crippling government siege. IS militants attacked the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in April, fighting al-Nusra units there for control.
The ceasefire deal comes after two months of intense negotiations between Syria's government and district leaders, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one local leader in Qadam said “every fighter will be allowed to leave with his family and one suitcase and his personal weapon”.
The areas are already in the process of being demilitarised. — AFP
To quit the districts of Qadam, Hajar al-Aswad and the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk
Source http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/nusra-is-to-leave-south-damascus-suburbs/article8030147.ece
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