Evacuation of ruined Syrian town proceeds

AMMAN, Aug 27 (KUNA) -- Evacuation of people from the war-pounded town of Daraya, located on Damascus' outskirts, which got underway on Friday, proceeded on Saturday, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
SANA, monitored here, said dozens of buses moved into the town of Daraya, located 10 southwest of the capital, for evacuation of civilians and gunmen, in line with an understanding that had been reached between the regime and city notables. Some of the buses, later, came out with civilians and armed men on board. They were searched by government troops manning checkpoints around the town.
The news agency said the gunmen torched a number of buildings, including some equipment such as computers and documents, which they had occupied.
It quoted governor of Damascus countryside Alaa Ibrahim as saying civilians were being transported for temporary settlement in the village of Al-Harjleh, in Al-Keswa.
The four-day operation kicked off on Friday, in line with an understanding between representatives of the Syrian regime and city representatives, stipulating evacuation of the whole civilian population and deploying regime troops in in the city.
Some 8,300 civilians are being relocated to northern province of Idlib. Gunmen are getting out with personal guns only.
Residents of Daraya, located some 10 km southwest of the Syrian capital, were among the first Syrians who staged the uprising against the regime in March 2011.
An opposition source said the city has become uninhabitable due to the massive destruction, largely inflicted with a series of air strikes with explosives-laden barrels -- the regime improvised dreaded weapon.
The city populace amounted to 80,000 souls before flare-up of the Syrian crisis, and later dropped by 90 percent, with a suffocating siege and severe shortage of necessities. The first humanitarian convoy made it to the city in June. (end) tk.rk