(Zaman Al Wasl)- A group of Failaq al-Rahman fighters began Sunday to leave Douma, their last bastion in eastern Ghouta to head to northern Idlib province as negotiations with Jaish al-Islam still underway, regime media said.
The move is the first such withdrawal of Failaq al-Rahman fighters from besieged Douma, where the dominant rebel group Jaish al-Islam is still negotiating a deal with Russia over surrender terms that gives them the option of leaving the enclave or making peace with the regime authorities.
Source told Zaman al-Wasl that Russians had threatened Jaish al-islam of 'genocide' if they keep stubborn, refusing to let its fighters leaving to Idlib but to southern Daraa province.
A deal was reached last night by a negotiating committee to evacuate wounded Jaish al-Islam civilians and fighters to northwestern Syria, but it was not clear if it was part of a broader deal that includes in later stages the pullout of fighters.
Douma is the last patch of Eastern Ghouta still held by Jaish al-Islam who have been routed in a ferocious offensive by the Russian-backed Syrian military that began in February.
"Our position is still clear and firm and it is rejecting forced displacement and demographic change in what remains of Eastern Ghouta," Jaish al-Islam military spokesman Hamza Birqdar said in a message posted on his Telegram feed.
Regime forces surround Douma. There are tens of thousands of civilians in the town.
The main demands of Douma rebels were to cease any hostilities by regime until the end of negotiations. The negotiation committee assured that a common ground was built and the outcomes will be good, urging people to be more patient.
Douma’s fall would seal the rebels’ heaviest defeat since 2016, driving them from their last big stronghold near the capital, and would also carry potent symbolism. The town was the main centre of street protests in the Damascus suburbs against Assad’s rule that ignited the conflict seven years ago.
More than 45,000 people and fighters from other rebel groups, their families and other civilians - have left to Idlib from elsewhere in Eastern Ghouta in convoys of buses that have been given safe passage to the northwest.
The regime offensive in eastern Ghouta has killed more than 1,600 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. The recovery of Douma would seal a major victory for Bashar Assad, crushing the last big rebel stronghold near Damascus after seven years of conflict. With Agencies
Zaman Al Wasl
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