Evacuations begin under deal for Shia and Sunni towns in Syria#SyriaWar

Αrt3208 Μ Παρασκευή 14 Απριλίου 2017

Evacuations begin under deal for Shia and Sunni towns in Syria#SyriaWar
The evacuation of the Sunni and Shia towns comes under a deal between opposition fighters and the Assad government
Buses move people from the two Shia villages of Fuaa and Kafraya (Reuters)
MEE and agencies
The transfer of the Shia populations of two Syrian towns, in exchange for moving Sunni rebels and civilians out of two others, has started, under an evacuation deal between warring parties, an AFP correspondent and a local source said.

An AFP correspondent in rebel-held Rashidin, west of Aleppo city, said at least 80 buses arrived in the region from government-held Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province​. A rebel source in Idlib told AFP "the implementation of the deal started in the morning".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed the beginning of the evacuation saying that buses carrying residents left the majority Shia towns of Fuaa and Kefraya, but had not yet crossed into government-held territory.

Madaya resident Amjad al-Maleh, who spoke to AFP on the phone from one of the buses leaving opposition-controlled Madaya and Zabadani at about 6am local time, said: "We just left now, around 2,200 people in around 65 buses."

Buses carrying mostly Sunni rebel fighters and their families simultaneously left the town of Madaya near Damascus, encircled by government forces and their allies, but were still passing through government-held areas, the Observatory said.

More than 30,000 people are expected to be evacuated under the deal, which began on Wednesday with an exchange of prisoners between rebels and government forces.

All 16,000 residents of Fuaa and Kafraya are expected to leave, heading to government-held Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia or Damascus. Civilian residents of Madaya and Zabadani will reportedly be allowed to remain if they choose.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government has struck a number deals in the past year which have provided for rebels and their families to leave areas the opposition has held, often after months or years of being besieged by government forces.

The opposition says the deals amount to forced population transfers and deliberate demographic change.

The armed opposition fighting for six years to unseat Assad is mostly Sunni Muslim, like most of Syria's population. Assad is from the Alawite religious minority, and is supported by Shia fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.


www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com