Syrian rebels began evacuating a second part of Eastern Ghouta Saturday, regime-run media said, in the latest such deal this week for the former opposition bastion.
"Several buses carrying 500 fighters and their families have reached the Arbin crossing, in preparation for their departure from Ghouta," state news agency SANA reported.
Once more buses gather at the Arbin crossing, the full convoy is expected to cross to opposition zones in northern Syria.
In its turn, Russia's Defence Ministry said more than 105,000 people have left Ghouta, including another 700 on Saturday since regime forces began an assault to retake it a month ago, RIA news agency reported, citing the military.
RIA referred to evacuations taking place during "humanitarian pauses". Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syrian President Bashar Assad's main ally in the conflict, ordered daily five-hour ceasefires and the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" to allow civilians to leave Eastern Ghouta.
In the event, the offensive - among the fiercest of the seven-year civil war - was largely carried out in defiance of international pleas to halt and honour a truce, and about 90 percent of eastern Ghouta is back under regime control. AFP, Reuters
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