For four long years the Damascus suburb of Daraya endured siege, bombardment and starvation at the hands of the Syrian regime.

The city was one of the first to rise up in peaceful protest against Bashar al-Assad during the early days of the Arab Spring and it stood strong in face of his violent oppression.

But on Friday Daraya’s long defiance came to an end and the city finally surrendered to the regime troops who have besieged it since 2012.

Its loss is a blow to the Syrian rebels as Daraya, which is just 15 minutes from central Damascus, was an icon of resistance. Its capture is both a symbolic victory for Mr Assad and a battlefield success that will free up his troops to fight elsewhere around the Syrian capital.

Children in Daraya speaking about the siege in April</s>Syrian rebel fighters evacuated from the Damascene suburb of Darayya on Friday, government officials and rebel leaders said, ending one of the longest-running sieges in the country’s devastating civil war.

Syrian state news operator SANA reported that “a reconciliation agreement” had been struck in the city of Darayya on Thursday, a short 15-minute drive from the center of Damascus, “so as to empty it of arms and gunmen in preparation for the return of all state institutions and the inhabitants of the city.”

Families now in the besieged suburb will be transferred to “temporary residency centers” while roughly 700 gunmen would be moved to the rebel-held province of Idlib after surrendering their medium and heavy weaponry to the Syrian government troops, Darayya’s mayor, Marwan Ubeid, was quoted as saying.

An opposition activist in the city who gave his name as Mutaz for reasons of privacy, confirmed the deal in an interview early Friday. He said that roughly 4,000 civilians will be taken to the Damascus suburbs of Qudsaya and Kisweh. The transfers will occur under international supervision, he said.

Later on Friday, a SANA reporter said that the evacuation operation had begun. Aid trucks from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered the suburb hours after the deal was struck.

Al-Mayadeen, a Lebanese news channel close to Assad ally Hezbollah, broadcast live images from Darayya showing government troops standing near what it said were 45 green-and-white buses prepared to move out civilians. Meanwhile, officials were checking off names of those fighters who had chosen to leave, while those remaining behind would be evacuated over the next four days, the news agency reported.

The U.N.’s Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, issued a statement Friday saying, “The situation regarding Darayya [was] extremely grave.”

“It is tragic that repeated appeals to lift the siege of Darayya, besieged since November 2012, and cease the fighting have never been heeded,” said Mistura, adding that he was “made aware of the agreement to evacuate the civilians and fighters” overnight.

“The U.N. was not consulted or involved in the negotiation of this agreement. It is imperative that the people of Darayya are protected in any evacuation that takes place, and that this takes place voluntarily.”

He appealed to members of the International Syria Support Group, a coalition of countries, including the U.S. and Russia, working to bring about an end to the war in Syria “to ensure that the implementation of this agreement and its aftermath is in full compliance with international humanitarian law and protection standards.”

Opposition activists uploaded video depicting rebel fighters embracing family members before their departure. Other photos showed women and men dragging their luggage through neighborhoods all but pulverized by almost four years of constant fighting.

The deal marks the end of one of the Syrian civil war’s most punishing standoffs.

Darayya, a suburb once home to 78,000 people and thought to be the site where Paul the Apostle had his conversion on the road to Damascus, was one of the first areas near the capital to join anti-government uprisings and became a byword for opposition to the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The suburb is also close to Mezzeh military airport, which reportedly houses headquarters of the government’s elite Republican Guards and the much-feared Air Force Intelligence.

In August 2012, Darayya was the site of what U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said was “an appalling and brutal” massacre that killed more than 200 people, many of them civilians, after fierce clashes forced rebel fighters to withdraw to the suburb’s outskirts. Both sides blamed the other for the killings.

Rebel factions seized control of Darayya later that year, but found themselves steadily losing a war of attrition with pro-government forces who mounted an increasingly tight siege on the area. Despite intense lobbying by the U.N., only one food shipment had entered Darayya since June, when a fragile ceasefire deal was forged to allow the delivery of aid.

Meanwhile, activists in the town spoke of frequent bombings by government warplanes, including one they claimed took out the last remaining hospital in the suburb last week.

Images broadcast by both government and opposition supporters hinted at the scale of the destruction within, and of the bitter calculus that would count Darayya a victory for the government in Syria’s vicious civil war; hardly any neighborhood escaped unscathed, with anywhere from 60% to 90% of the buildings damaged or destroyed.

The reconciliation agreement follows similar deals forged in the central city of Homs in May 2014, which saw fighters and their families evacuate the city’s old quarter and move to Idlib.

Opposition supporters took to social media to condemn the agreement; they excoriated rebel factions in the country’s south for not doing more to help break the siege on the city.

Yet rebel activists in Darayya insisted they would leave the city only to fight the government once again.

“We only left to return,” media activist Mohammad Abu Al-Zain said on his Facebook page Friday.

Abu Jaafar Al-Homsi, the nom de guerre of a commander in the Martyrs of Islam Brigade, one of two major factions in the suburb, posted a defiant statement on Twitter, saying the deal had come after “thousands of failed incursion attempts” by pro-government forces.

“We leave the stones of Darayya in the care of Allah … and accompany with us the heroes of Darayya and their rifles,” he wrote.

“Darayya is where the battles are, for no land can contain Darayya.”

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8:30 a.m.: This article has been updated with a report of aid trucks entering the suburb.</s>DARAYA, Syria | Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a long-besieged Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government following four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins.

The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. It provides a further boost for the Syrian army as it fights opposition forces for control over Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syrian soldiers are seen at the entrance of Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Local Council of Daraya City, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian citizens gather as they prepare to evacuate from Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(Local Council of Daraya City via AP) Syrian soldiers walk at the entrance of Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Local Council of Daraya City, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian citizens gather with their belonging next of a bus, as they prepare to evacuate from Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(Local Council of Daraya City via AP) This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Local Council of Daraya City, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian citizens carry their belonging as they prepare to evacuate from Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(Local Council of Daraya City via AP) A Syrian soldier walks in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) Syrian soldiers are seen at the entrance of Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) Aid ambulances in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) Damaged buildings in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo) Syrian soldiers take in the view from a damaged building in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The development in the Daraya suburb is part of an agreement struck between the rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad. Rebels agreed to evacuate after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that has left the sprawling suburb southwest of the capital in ruins.(AP Photo)

Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, around 700 gunmen will be allowed safe exit to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken temporarily to a shelter south of Daraya.

The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade.

As the first white bus with rebels and their families emerged from Daraya, Syrian army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans.

The development comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks center on proposals to share intelligence and coordinate militarily with Russia against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in Syria and Iraq. Russia and Iran are strong backers of Assad and have been accused of targeting Western-backed rebel forces.

The U.N.’s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, called for the protection of people being evacuated from Daraya and said their departure must be voluntary. In a statement issued in Geneva, he said the U.N. was not consulted or involved in the negotiation of the deal reached between rebel factions and government forces.

Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummeled by government airstrikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. In August 2012, around 400 people were killed over several days in a killing spree by troops and pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb after heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists.

At least 48 green and white buses, eight ambulances and several Red Crescent and U.N. vehicles were lined up at the entrance of Daraya earlier Friday, waiting for the green light.

An Associated Press journalist who entered the suburb from its northern entrance saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. A group of uniformed soldiers celebrated, shouting pro-Syria slogans and flashing victory signs.

Black smoke rose on the horizon — caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

Footage posted on the internet by a member of the Daraya local council shows a small group of a few dozen people milling about in a street lined with destroyed buildings. Surrounded by some meager belongings, they appear to be waiting to be evacuated. Women in full face cover are seen sitting on pieces of rubble while bearded men walk about.

Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to hundreds of gunmen and their families out of Daraya and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib. Civilians will be taken to Kesweh, south of Daraya.

“Idlib will be their graveyard,” said a Syrian army soldier. “This is a precious moment for every Syrian,” he added. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

It is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition.

The first major truce deal was struck in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, west of Daraya, in 2014. It was followed by truces and cease-fires in Babila, Yalda, Barzeh around the Syrian capital — all deals that swung heavily in the government’s favor and pacified the region.

Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. For years, government helicopters conducted a brutal aerial campaign, pounding the suburb with barrel bombs — large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal. The Syrian government denies using barrel bombs.

Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a siege that lasted almost three years. Rebels there also headed to Idlib, handing the government a significant victory in central Syria.

The U.N.’s humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass. Residents had described burning plastic material to make fuel.

Activist Hussam Ayash said residents were “trying to absorb the shock” of suddenly having to leave. “It’s difficult, but we have no choice,” he told the AP, speaking from inside Daraya.

“Our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable,” he said on Thursday night, ahead of the evacuations. “We withstood for four years but we couldn’t any longer,” he said, choking on his words.

Ayash said the situation became unbearable after the town’s remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town’s agricultural farms — the only source of food for the local population, which he estimated at 8,000 people.

Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.</s>Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a long-besieged Damascus suburb on Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government following four years of gruelling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins.

The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. It provides a further boost for the Syrian army as it fights opposition forces for control over Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late on Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, around 700 gunmen will be allowed safe exit to the Opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken temporarily to a shelter south of Daraya.

The suburb has been besieged by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade.

As the first white bus with rebels and their families emerged from Daraya, Syrian army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans.</s>The besieged Syrian town of Darayya, a symbol of the rebellion against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is to be taken over by government forces after the last rebel fighters agreed to hand over their weapons and leave.

The surrender and evacuation of the Damascus suburb after a brutal four-year siege is a devastating blow to opposition morale and a long-sought prize for Assad. Weeks of intense bombardment, which activists claim included napalm attacks, has finally overwhelmed rebels.

The evacuation will be carried out in stages, with fighters leaving for opposition-controlled areas, but the fate of the few thousand civilians who have endured years of fighting and deprivation is still unclear.

“The Assad regime and the armed groups in Darayya agreed on a ceasefire as an interlude to a settlement that includes evacuating civilians as of tomorrow, Friday,” a member of the local council told the Guardian.

Families fear being forced to separate, and many of the people left in the city are worried that if they are forced into government-held areas they will disappear into jail for their activism in Darayya, or face an even grimmer fate.

“The civilians are forced mainly to go to the regime-held areas. It is said that the families of the fighters can go with them, but nothing is confirmed yet. Tomorrow, when they come to take the first group of civilians, we will know further details,” the council member said.

The fighters who join other opposition forces will be celebrated for their years of resistance, said Osama Abu Zaid, legal consultant to the Free Syrian Army. “We are awaiting the heroes of Darayya, the courageous,” he added, saving his criticism for western powers that he said offered no support.

“For four years Darayya was under siege and the international community did nothing,” he said in a radio broadcast in northern Syria. “Four years and the United Nations couldn’t provide any humanitarian aid, except once.”

The town became known as a centre for the opposition from the start of the uprising against Assad, which later turned into civil war. “Darayya was one of the very first towns to go against Assad. We started very early and we were so peaceful, we didn’t take the choice of raising arms for a full year,” said Kholoud Waleed, an activist from the town who now lives in exile.

Darayya was the home of Ghiath Matar, an activist committed to non-violence. He was famous for handing out roses and bottles of water to government soldiers when they first entered the town in summer 2011. He inspired pro-democracy protesters around Syria, but that autumn he was killed, his body disfigured and his throat cut out.

The town was also the site of a notorious massacre by government forces almost four years to the day before the surrender was agreed. They stormed in to make house-to-house searches, and left hundreds dead in one of the worst killing sprees of the war.



Like many of Darayya’s residents, Waleed fled as Assad’s troops began laying a siege on the town in 2012. Those who managed to cling on inside the military cordon survived by growing their own food in fields between houses. But in recent weeks fighters and civilians had been pinned into just a few blocks with nowhere to produce food, Waleed said.

Heavy fighting continues around the city of Aleppo, with reports of civilian casualties on both sides. Activists said 13 people, most of them children, were killed this week by a government barrel bomb dropped on a residential area.

In northern Syria, a rebel force backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and aircraft entered the town of Jarablus, one of the last Islamic State strongholds along the border, as Ankara demanded Kurdish militia fighters retreat to the east side of the Euphrates river within a week. 



Turkey wants to secure the border and drive back Isis after a bomb at a wedding on Turkish soil killed dozens of people. However, Ankara is also concerned about the rapid advance by the Kurdish YPG militia across former Isis strongholds.

It wants to prevent the fighters, who have been advancing fast with US air support, from seizing territory and consolidating control that could fuel the ambitions of Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey.</s>By Albert Aji and Zeina Karam, Associated Press

DARAYA, Syria — Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a long-besieged Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government following four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins.

The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. It provides a further boost for the Syrian army as it fights opposition forces for control over Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, around 700 gunmen will be allowed safe exit to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken temporarily to a shelter south of Daraya.
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• August 23, 2016 Turkey strikes Islamic State in Syria as tensions rise over border town The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade.

As the first white bus with rebels and their families emerged from Daraya, Syrian army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans.

The development comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks center on proposals to share intelligence and coordinate militarily with Russia against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in Syria and Iraq. Russia and Iran are strong backers of Assad and have been accused of targeting Western-backed rebel forces.

The U.N.’s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, called for the protection of people being evacuated from Daraya and said their departure must be voluntary. In a statement issued in Geneva, he said the U.N. was not consulted or involved in the negotiation of the deal reached between rebel factions and government forces.

Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummeled by government airstrikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. In August 2012, around 400 people were killed over several days in a killing spree by troops and pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb after heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists.

At least 48 green and white buses, eight ambulances and several Red Crescent and U.N. vehicles were lined up at the entrance of Daraya earlier Friday, waiting for the green light.

An Associated Press journalist who entered the suburb from its northern entrance saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. A group of uniformed soldiers celebrated, shouting pro-Syria slogans and flashing victory signs.

Black smoke rose on the horizon — caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

Footage posted on the internet by a member of the Daraya local council shows a small group of a few dozen people milling about in a street lined with destroyed buildings. Surrounded by some meager belongings, they appear to be waiting to be evacuated. Women in full face cover are seen sitting on pieces of rubble while bearded men walk about.

Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to hundreds of gunmen and their families out of Daraya and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib. Civilians will be taken to Kesweh, south of Daraya.

“Idlib will be their graveyard,” said a Syrian army soldier. “This is a precious moment for every Syrian,” he added. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

It is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition.

The first major truce deal was struck in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, west of Daraya, in 2014. It was followed by truces and cease-fires in Babila, Yalda, Barzeh around the Syrian capital — all deals that swung heavily in the government’s favor and pacified the region.

Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. For years, government helicopters conducted a brutal aerial campaign, pounding the suburb with barrel bombs — large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal. The Syrian government denies using barrel bombs.

Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a siege that lasted almost three years. Rebels there also headed to Idlib, handing the government a significant victory in central Syria.

The U.N.’s humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass. Residents had described burning plastic material to make fuel.

Activist Hussam Ayash said residents were “trying to absorb the shock” of suddenly having to leave. “It’s difficult, but we have no choice,” he told the AP, speaking from inside Daraya.

“Our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable,” he said on Thursday night, ahead of the evacuations. “We withstood for four years but we couldn’t any longer,” he said, choking on his words.

Ayash said the situation became unbearable after the town’s remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town’s agricultural farms — the only source of food for the local population, which he estimated at 8,000 people.

Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.</s>Buses, ambulances and trucks have lined up at the entrance of a long-blockaded Damascus suburb to evacuate rebels and civilians under a deal struck between Syrian opposition forces and the government of President Bashar Assad.

The surrender of the Daraya suburb, which became an early symbol of the uprising against Mr Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power.

Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late on Thursday, after four years of gruelling bombardment and a crippling siege that left the sprawling suburb in ruins.

The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time.

The development comes as US secretary of state John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

The talks centre on proposals to share intelligence and co-ordinate militarily with Russia against Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq. Russia and Iran are strong backers of Mr Assad and have been accused of targeting western-backed rebel forces.

Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummelled by government air strikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years.

The evacuations are to begin later on Friday. At least 48 green and white buses, eight ambulances and several Red Crescent and UN vehicles were lined up at the entrance of Daraya, waiting for the green light.

In a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred, black smoke rose on the horizon – caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to 700 gunmen and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib . Around 4,000 civilians will be taken to shelters in and around Damascus.

“Idlib will be their graveyard,” said a Syrian army soldier. “This is a precious moment for every Syrian,” he added.

Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, has suffered thousands of helicopter-dropped, unguided barrel bombs over the years.

It saw some of the first demonstrations against Mr Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, some carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

It is the latest area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition.

The UN’s humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien told the UN Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass. Residents had described burning plastic material to make fuel.

“No one will remain here”, said Hussam Ayash, a Daraya activist.

“We are being forced to leave, but our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable,” he said, ahead of the evacuations. “We withstood for four years but we couldn’t any longer,” he said, choking on his words.

Mr Ayash said the situation became unbearable after the town’s remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town’s agricultural farms – the only source of food for the local population, which he estimated at 8,000 people.</s>Escorted by armed troops, dozens of insurgents and their families left this war-wrecked suburb of the Syrian capital on Friday as part of a forced evacuation deal struck with the government to end a four-year siege and aerial campaign that has left the area in ruins.

The capitulation by rebel forces in Daraya, an early bastion of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, provides another boost for his forces amid a stalemate in the fight for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

It also improves security around Assad’s seat of power, pacifying an entire region southwest of Damascus that was once a backbone of the rebellion. Daraya was the last remaining rebel holdout in the region known as western Ghouta — and the closest to the capital.

The mass relocation of the suburb’s residents reflects the government’s ongoing military strategy to break up Sunni population areas, weakening the rebellion against it. It also highlights concerns over the forced displacement of members of the Sunni majority, seen by some as a government policy to strengthen its base and create a corridor made up of its minority supporters.

Following the deal struck late Thursday, Daraya’s rebels began evacuating in government buses on Friday, a process expected to take several days. Around 700 gunmen are to be allowed safe passage to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken to temporary shelter in government-controlled Kisweh, south of Daraya.

The U.N., which said it was not consulted over the plan, expressed concern over the evacuation, saying it was imperative that those participating do so voluntarily.

As the first white government bus carrying evacuees emerged from Daraya carrying mostly women and children, Syrian Army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans. Inside, armed troops guarded the doors as the women tried to hide their faces. Nine buses left Daraya on Friday.

One of Daraya’s fighters, Tamam Abouel Kheir, posted a video message saying, “We are forced to leave. But we will return, our nation.”

The post included pictures of his loved ones and a photo of a group of young men visiting the Daraya cemetery to pay their respects to the hundreds who died in the fighting. “If only we could take the tombs of our martyrs with us,” he wrote.

Dr. Mohamad Diaa, a 27-year-old general practitioner in Daraya, said he would likely leave Saturday with the rebels heading to Idlib. “Today married civilians and families. Tomorrow, the rest of the shabab leave,” he said, using Arabic slang for young men.

His family left Syria long before, but he chose to stay behind, Diaa said, giving only his first and middle names because he feared for his safety. He said he hoped the presence of the Red Crescent would be enough to prevent the government from arresting the evacuating rebels.

Daraya-based opposition activist Hussam Ayash said residents were “trying to absorb the shock” of suddenly having to leave. “It’s difficult, but we have no choice,” he said.

Daraya is part of “Rural Damascus,” a province that includes the capital’s suburbs and farmland. It saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the 2011 uprising against his family’s rule in which residents took to the streets, sometimes carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

After the uprising turned into insurgency, the suburb became a persistent threat to the government’s nearby Mezzeh air base. It was pummeled by government airstrikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. In August 2012, around 400 residents were killed by pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb following heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists.

Once known for its workshops that produced handmade wooden furniture, Daraya has been besieged and blockaded by government forces since November 2012, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach it during that time. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade.

An Associated Press journalist who entered the suburb Friday saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. Black smoke rose on the horizon — caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

In a statement, the U.N. said it was neither involved nor consulted about the evacuation plan, adding, “the world is watching.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a small team of U.N. and Red Cross aid workers would travel to Daraya “to meet with all parties and identify the key issues for the civilians.”

“We are using this lull in the fighting to get in and see what we can do and obviously see for ourselves what the situation is inside the city,” Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Daraya is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition. Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a nearly three-year siege. Rebels there also headed to Idlib, handing the government a significant victory in central Syria.

Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. For years, government helicopters conducted a brutal aerial campaign, pounding the suburb with barrel bombs — large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal. The Syrian government denies using barrel bombs.

Diaa said for the last eight months Daraya has been pounded with hundreds of barrel bombs, as the government attempted to storm it. It was left choked off, with no supply lines and no roads in or out. The U.N.’s humanitarian chief, Stephen O’Brien, told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass.

Residents said the situation became unbearable after the town’s remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town’s farmlands — the only source of food for the local population.

Diaa said Daraya’s residents were let down by the international community and by rebel factions in Daraa and eastern Ghouta who did not come to their rescue.

“We had hoped someone would stand by us and put some pressure on the regime. But it didn’t happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, had “achieved clarity” on a path toward restoring a truce in Syria, but details remained to be worked out.

Kerry said the “vast majority” of technical discussions on steps to reinstate the cease-fire and improve humanitarian access had been completed during talks on Friday, and experts would try to finalize the unresolved steps in the coming days.</s>DARAYA, Syria (AP) — Buses, ambulances and trucks lined up at the entrance of a long-blockaded Damascus suburb on Friday to evacuate rebels and civilians under a deal struck between the Syrian opposition forces and the government.

The surrender of the Daraya suburb, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power.

Daraya's rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late Thursday, after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that left the sprawling suburb in ruins. The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time.

The development comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks center on proposals to share intelligence and coordinate militarily with Russia against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in Syria and Iraq. Russia and Iran are strong backers of Assad and have been accused of targeting Western-backed rebel forces.

Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummeled by government airstrikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years.

The evacuations are to begin later Friday. At least 48 green and white buses, eight ambulances and several Red Crescent and U.N. vehicles were lined up at the entrance of Daraya, waiting for the green light.

An AP journalist who entered the suburb from its northern entrance saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. A group of uniformed soldiers celebrated, shouting pro-Syria slogans and flashing victory signs.

Black smoke rose on the horizon — caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

Footage posted on the internet by a member of the Daraya local council shows a small group of a few dozen people milling about in a street lined with destroyed buildings. Surrounded by some meager belongings, they appear to be waiting to be evacuated. Women in full face cover are seen sitting on pieces of rubble while bearded men walk about.

By midday Friday, three buses and several ambulances were seen entering Daraya, ahead of the evacuation.

Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to 700 gunmen and their families out of Daraya and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib. Around 4,000 civilians will be taken to a shelter in Kesweh, south of Daraya.

"Idlib will be their graveyard," said a Syrian army soldier. "This is a precious moment for every Syrian," he added. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, has suffered thousands of helicopter-dropped unguided barrel bombs over the years.

It saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

It is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition.

The first major truce deal was struck in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, west of Daraya, in 2014. It was followed by truces and cease-fires in Babila, Yalda, Barzeh around the Syrian capital — all deals that swung heavily in the government' favor and pacified the region.

Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. For years, government helicopters conducted a brutal aerial campaign, pounding the suburb with barrel bombs — large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal. The Syrian government denies using barrel bombs.

Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a siege that lasted almost three years. Rebels there also headed to Idlib, handing the government a significant victory in central Syria.

The U.N.'s humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass. Residents had described burning plastic material to make fuel.

Activist Hussam Ayash said residents were "trying to absorb the shock" of suddenly having to leave. "It's difficult, but we have no choice," he told The Associated Press, speaking from inside Daraya.

"Our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable," he said on Thursday night, ahead of the evacuations. "We withstood for four years but we couldn't any longer," he said, choking on his words.

Ayash said the situation became unbearable after the town's remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town's agricultural farms — the only source of food for the local population, which he estimated at 8,000 people.

Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.</s>DARAYA, Syria -- Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government after four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins.

The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. It provides a further boost for the Syrian army as it fights opposition forces for control over Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

Daraya's rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, about 700 gunmen will be allowed safe exit to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken temporarily to a shelter south of Daraya.

The suburb has been blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during the siege. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade.

As the first white bus with rebels and their families emerged from Daraya, Syrian army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans.

The development comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. After meeting off and on with Lavrov for nearly 10 hours, Kerry said the two "have achieved clarity" on a path to restore a truce in Syria but details remain to be worked out.

Neither Kerry nor Lavrov described the talks in detail.

The talks center on proposals to share intelligence and coordinate militarily with Russia against the Islamic State extremist group and the al-Qaida branch in Syria and Iraq. Russia and Iran are strong backers of Assad and have been accused of targeting Western-backed rebel forces.

Asked at the start of the gathering to identify the main impediment to a broader nationwide ceasefire, Lavrov responded: "I don't want to spoil the atmosphere for the negotiations."

Any U.S.-Russian coordination would be complicated by the fact that Russia says there are Islamic extremist groups mixed in with the moderate rebels that the U.S. supports. Russia accuses the U.S. of preventing strikes on terrorist groups out of concern that would mean targeting these rebels.

"A terrorist center" remains in those areas of Syria and "no one can deal with it because so-called moderate opposition groups are there," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said in an interview the day before the talks.

At the moment, a key focus is the humanitarian situation in Aleppo. The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday that Russia has agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire there and he's waiting to hear if rebels will do the same. He said trucks are ready to take humanitarian relief to the city.

On Friday, de Mistura called for the protection of people being evacuated from Daraya and said their departure must be voluntary. In a statement issued in Geneva, he said the U.N. was not consulted or involved in the negotiation of the deal reached between rebel factions and government forces.

"The world is watching," de Mistura said.

Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummeled by government airstrikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. In August 2012, around 400 people were killed over several days by troops and pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb after heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists.

At least 48 green and white buses, eight ambulances and several Red Crescent and U.N. vehicles were lined up at the entrance of Daraya earlier Friday, waiting for the green light.

A journalist who entered the suburb from the north saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. A group of uniformed soldiers celebrated, shouting pro-Syria slogans and flashing victory signs.

Black smoke rose on the horizon -- caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers.

Footage posted on the Internet by a member of the Daraya local council shows a small group of a few dozen people milling about in a street lined with destroyed buildings. Surrounded by some meager belongings, they appear to be waiting to be evacuated. Women in full face cover are seen sitting on pieces of rubble while bearded men walk about.

Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to hundreds of gunmen and their families out of Daraya and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib. Civilians will be taken to Kesweh, south of Daraya.

"Idlib will be their graveyard," said a Syrian army soldier. "This is a precious moment for every Syrian," he added. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests.

It is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops after years of siege. Opposition activists and human-rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition.

Information for this article was contributed by Albert Aji, Zeina Karam, Sarah El Deeb, Jamey Keaten and Matthew Lee of The Associated Press and by Nick Wadhams and Henry Meyer of Bloomberg News.
Following a ceasefire agreement with the government, Syrian rebels begin evacuating the war-torn suburb of Darayya, near Damascus, ending a four-year-long siege by government forces. Under the terms of surrender, the 8,000 civilians who reside in the suburb will be moved to regime-controlled areas while several hundred rebel fighters will be given passage to the Idlib Governorate.