Well, this is a surprise
Al-Qadam district south of Damascus © RT Arabic / RT |
As part of the three stage withdrawal plan of the “reconciliation” more than 1,000 jihadists on Wednesday were provided with a safe passage to the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria. Al-Nusra fighters are making their way to Idlib, also in the north of the country, RR Arabic reports.
Al-Qadam district south of Damascus © RT Arabic / RT |
Besides leaving the southern suburbs of Damascus, IS and Al-Nusra militants, mostly of foreign nationalities, have also moved out of the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp, which the fighters had been holding under their control since April 2015.
“Today is a happy and joyful day. Most armed ISIS units, that kept control of the Yarmouk camp and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad [city just 4 kilometers (2 miles) south of Damascus] have completed their withdrawal. This is about 4,000 people, including their families. This morning at dawn, they went away,” President of the Palestinian Reconciliation Committee, Sheikh Mohammed Omari, told RT Arabic.
At the same time around 1,300 fighters, Syrian nationals, have chosen to cut ties with the radicals, surrender and potentially join the national militia, according to Russian outlet LifeNews. In the Al-Qadam area alone, some 150 people had their legal status settled, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
The clearing of the terrorist threat in the Damascus suburbs made it possible for the first batch of some 500 families to ready themselves to return to their homes in an area that looks nothing as it once did before the Syrian conflict erupted.
No kidding! Are they even going to want to return to that?
Al-Qadam district south of Damascus © RT Arabic / RT |
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