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 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. 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. 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. 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. • August 25, 2016 Turkey: U.S. says Syria Kurds are pulling back in north Syria
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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. 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. Russia accuses the U.S. of preventing strikes on terrorist groups out of concern that would mean targeting these rebels. Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummelled by government air strikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. 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. 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. 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. 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. “We are awaiting the heroes of Darayya, the courageous,” he added, saving his criticism for western powers that he said offered no support. 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. 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. Diaa said for the last eight months Daraya has been pounded with hundreds of barrel bombs, as the government attempted to storm it. 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. “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. 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.
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.