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Buses evacuated thousands of civilians and pro-regime fighters from Foua and Kefraya, two Syrian localities besieged by rebels and jihadists for three years in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
AFP on the spot, fighters and civilians as well as a lot of personal belongings were visible on board vehicles leaving these localities as part of an agreement between Russia, allied with the regime, and Turkey, support of the rebels
The evacuations concern all the inhabitants of the two villages who are to be transferred to territories under government control in the neighboring province of Aleppo, according to an NGO based in Great Britain, the Syrian Observatory of the Rights of the Man (OSDH).
"Thirty-two buses have so far gone through a first wave of evacuations, accounting for about one third of the total operation, which should be completed by Thursday morning, "said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the OSDH, in the night.
The villages of Foua and Kefraya (northwest), mostly of Shiite confession and acquired by the regime, are besieged by rebels and the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda branch in Syria, which controls most of the province.
On Wednesday, on the road to the two villages, an official of the besieged area and a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader had kicked off operations. Barricades of land blocking the pbadage were removed and 84 buses were allowed to enter, an AFP correspondent said.
"Dozens of buses and ambulances entered the two localities of Foua and Kefraya to get out. the inhabitants besieged by the terrorists ", announced the official Sana news agency, using the term usually used by the regime to designate all the insurgents.
In total, some 6,900 people, civilians and combatants, must be evacuated, according to a source within Hayat Tahrir al-Cham. In return, 1,500 prisoners will be released from the regime's prisons.
– Enhanced security –
The Foua and Kefraya siege began in 2015 when rebels and jihadists invaded Idleb Province, cutting off access to food and medicine. The UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have provided humanitarian aid in synchronized reciprocal operations with two government-backed cities near Damascus, Zabadani and Madaya.
In April 2017, the four cities also is subject to coordinated evacuation operations. But a suicide attack on a convoy of civilians evacuated from Foua and Kefraya left 150 dead, including 72.
The traumatized residents who stayed behind said they feared that the scenario would be repeated during the new evacuations.
Security was strengthened in the night from Wednesday to Thursday as the buses were leaving the beleaguered localities very slowly, with Hayat Tahrir al-Cham fighters surrounding the convoy.
Just before midnight, ambulances carrying 15 sick residents and wounded left first and headed into the darkness towards the Al-Eis crossing, which connects the rebel-held Idleb province to parts of Aleppo province controlled by the regime, AFP reported.
A Hayat Tahrir al-Sham source stated that it was a "gesture of goodwill" prior to complete evacuation.
– Right of Return –
According to the OSDH, the accor Turkish-Turk would also guarantee that Illeb did not undergo a military offensive by the regime.
The province is bordering Turkey to the northwest, but is almost totally surrounded by regime-controlled territory.
It is home to more than two million people, including Syrian civilians and rebels who fled from other territories under surrender agreements.
Activists and human rights groups Men have warned that such population transfers may amount to forced displacement.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has insisted that any population movement must be voluntary.
" Any evacuation, in Syria or elsewhere, must respect the basic humanitarian rules: civilians can choose to stay or leave. Civilians must be protected from attack, at all times. Evacuations are temporary, civilians have the right to return home, "the ICRC wrote on Twitter.
Launched in 2011 after the regime's crackdown on peaceful protests calling for democratic reforms, the conflict in Syria has become more complex over the years with the involvement of foreign countries and jihadist groups in an increasingly fragmented territory.
It has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced millions of people.
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