Hundreds of rebels fighters in a Syrian town northeast of Damascus have handed in their weapons and started to leave under an evacuation deal, Syrian government media reported.
Under the agreement, the rebels are allowed to move with their families to opposition-held areas in the country’s north, effectively surrendering their turf to Syrian government forces.
The state Sana news agency says the Army of Islam fighters and their families are leaving the town of Dumayr on Thursday.
Dumayr is in the Qalamoun mountains, near the eastern Ghouta region which came under full government control last week after a weeks-long offensive and an alleged chemical weapons attack.
