The Syrian army is close to regaining full control of eastern Ghouta. Talks are underway to reach a full settlement that could see Russian troops deployed inside the town of Douma.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
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Hundreds of Syrian rebels and civilians were evacuated on Sunday from Douma in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta following years of conflict and weeks of relentless bombardment by government forces.
The evacuees arrived in northwestern Idlib province aboard a convoy of buses and ambulances, according to the official Syrian news agency, SANA.
Douma is the region's largest town and was the last remaining pocket held by opposition factions after the Syrian government regained control of the nearby city of Harasta on Thursday and the towns of Zamalka, Arbin and Jobar on Saturday. The evacuations are part of agreements reached between the Syrian army, its ally Russia, and Islamist rebel groups — such as Faylaq al-Raham, Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam — that have been active in the area. A further 7,000 rebels and civilians were expected to be removed under the deals.
Many civilians reacted with great emotion as they left their homesImage: Reuters/B. Khabieh
Talks were meanwhile still underway between the Jaish al-Islam group, which controlled Douma, and Russia to reach a final agreement on the town's future, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A full settlement could see Russian troops deployed inside the town.
'Forced displacements'
The evacuations have allowed the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to strengthen their grip on eastern Ghouta. The full recapture of the enclave would mark Assad's biggest victory since December 2016, when his army regained complete control of the northern city of Aleppo from opposition fighters after a Russia-backed offensive.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
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More than 106,000 people have left eastern Ghouta since humanitarian pauses came into effect, according to Major General Yuri Yevtushenko, chief of the Russian Reconciliation Center, cited by the Russian TASS news agency.
"Through the humanitarian corridor near the populated locality of Al-Wafideen, 1,717 people have left in the past 24 hours," Yevtushenko said. "Since February 28, a total of 23,398 people have left the town of Douma along that corridor."
The United Nations has estimated the population of eastern Ghouta at 400,000. Syrian state television said most of them had exited through "humanitarian corridors" opened by Syrian troops, as part of the Russian-led agreements. Some opposition groups have condemned the evacuation deals in war-torn Syria as forced displacement.
