(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime forces and Daesh fighters in southern suburbs of Damascus have agreed to cease fighting after four days of clashes, local sources told Zaman al-Wasl Saturday.
The regime army ordered ISIS to retreat from al-Qadam to the adjacent neighborhood of al-Hajar al-Aswad, four days after rebels evacuated the district to northern Idlib province.
Zaman al-Wasl reporter said regime warplanes conducted 12 raids on ISIS-held pockets in southern Damascus in al-Hajar la-Aswad and Yarmouk Refugee Camp, killing a child and leaving dozen more wounded.
The bombardment has pushed tens of families to flee Yarmouk camp to the town of Yalda, according to the local reporter.
In its turn, ISIS claimed killing of 25 regime troops in the clasheson Saturday and 40 since clahses erupted four days ago.
Al-Qadam itself has seen both: militants were evacuated from the town in 2016, and other rebels in the town agreed to join the ranks of the regime, AFP reported.
The district is smaller than and not connected to Eastern Ghouta, an area east of the capital, which is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians and rebels.
300 fighters were evacuated from al-Qadam to northern Idlib province to escape regime control on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
"An agreement reached in September 2017 between the regime and Islamist factions, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham [HTS], was implemented today," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
HTS is made up mostly of former members of Al-Qaeda's ex-affiliate in Syria. The other main group present in Qadam was Ajnad al-Sham.
"At least 1,300 people, including fighters with their relatives, have been transferred," the Britain-based Observatory's head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.
Syria's regime has managed to retake several areas around Damascus with a combination of evacuations and "reconciliation" deals that see rebelling towns brought back under regime control.
The regime is waging a fierce air and ground offensive but also pursuing talks with armed groups still holding the rump of the rebel enclave.
In the eastern suburbs of Damascus, the regime army retook two more towns on Saturday, the Observatory said, pressing an offensive to capture the rebel enclave on the doorstep of Damascus.
Regime forces seized Kafr Batna and Sabqa in the south of the enclave, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as thousands of civilians fled into regime-held territory.
Russia-backed regime forces have retaken more than 80 percent of the last opposition bastion outside the capital since launching a blistering air and ground offensive on Feb. 18, the Observatory says.
The assault has split opposition-held areas into three shrinking pockets each held by different rebels.
AFP contributed to this report
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