The evacuations are part of a deal between Russia and the Faylaq al-Rahman rebel group. The Syrian government now controls a vast majority of the besieged enclave outside the capital, Damascus.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Eassa
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A convoy comprising 100 buses carrying nearly 7,000 evacuated Syrian rebel fighters and civilians began leaving eastern Ghouta overnight, state media said on Tuesday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the mass evacuation.
A quarter of those evacuated overnight were rebel fighters, the SANA state news agency said. The evacuees will be driven to rebel-held territory in northwestern Idlib province.
The evacuation — the biggest yet out of the devastated enclave outside capital Damascus — is part of a deal reached last week between the Faylaq al-Rahman rebel faction and Russia, which backs the Syrian government.
Syrian government forces and allied militia have recaptured about 80 percent of the former rebel bastion since they launched a brutal offensive last month that has left hundreds of people dead and rendered many more homeless.
The town of Douma now remains the last rebel-held stronghold in the besieged enclave. The Russian military said on Monday it was close to reaching a deal with the Jaysh al-Islam, or Army of Islam, rebel group to arrange its exit.
The town is the home to tens of thousands of people, including many who were displaced over the past weeks of heavy fighting.
Lieutenant General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov told Russian news agencies on Monday in Syria that he expects Russian troops to "take them (rebels) out soon," and that the rebels were reportedly willing to lay down arms.
However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels were divided on a deal with Moscow. Some hard-liners are even against holding talks with Russians, it said.
Separately, Army of Islam spokesman Hamza Bayraqdar has accused the Faylaq al-Rahman rebels of helping government forces make inroads in the enclave after they dried out artificial swamps set up by the rebel fighters to slow down the Syrian forces' advance.
"We had defensive plans prepared, but regrettably Faylaq al-Rahman cut the water that was brought from Barada River," Bayraqdar told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV. "This sped up the regime's advance."
Hundreds have been killed in one of the Syrian regime's most intense bombing campaigns since the war began in 2011. DW looks at the devastation inflicted on one of the last rebel-held towns.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets
Enclave under siege
More than 1,500 people have been killed since Syrian government troops backed by Russia launched a ferocious attack on eastern Ghouta on February 18. Airstrikes have reduced much of the area near Damascus to ruins. According to the UN, there were an estimated 400,000 people trapped inside the besieged enclave without access to food and water when the offensive began.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets
'Hell on earth'
The town of Douma, with its 200,000 residents, is now the only remaining Ghouta pocket still under rebel control. The full recapture of eastern Ghouta would mark a significant victory for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Referring to the month-long assault on the enclave, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded "this hell on earth" be stopped immediately.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
Reports of chemical attack
According to activists and doctors in the region, several people have suffered symptoms consistent with those triggered by a chlorine gas attack and had to be treated in hospital. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned the Syrian regime that the use of chemical weapons will result in French retaliation, but the Syrian government claims it has never used this kind of munition.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
300,000 killed
A man and child look at the remains of a missile in Douma, the largest in eastern Ghouta. More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011, when the government cracked down on protesters who were calling for the release of political prisoners and for President Assad to step down.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
'Rapid spread of malnutrition'
Activists say people in Douma have little food or water. Marten Mylius, the emergency relief coordinator for CARE in the Middle East, told DW that "after the tunnels were destroyed and the crossings closed, the price of basic foods skyrocketed. One kilo of rice now costs $4.50 (€3.66). A lot of people cannot afford that anymore. In other words, we are witnessing a rapid spread of malnutrition."
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
At the mercy of the regime
Aid access to eastern Ghouta is difficult because there is no direct route from neighboring countries. "In Idlib, for example...you can get in directly from the Turkish border. You can wait with supplies at the border and then bring in the convoy. It is much more difficult in eastern Ghouta," Mylius told DW.
