War in Syria: Fighters from rival groups given safe passage to borders
The United Nations and foreign governments have tried to broker local ceasefires and safe passage as steps towards the goal of ending Syria’s civil war
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Several hundred fighters and civilians were evacuated from two besieged areas in Syria today under a deal between warring parties backed by the United Nations.
At least 130, mostly wounded, rebel fighters left the town of Zabadani for the nearby Lebanese border at the same time as 350 fighters and civilians from pro-government besieged Shia towns in north-western Syria headed for the Turkish border.
Under the deal, the fighters from the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group and other local Syrian rebel factions holed up in Zabadani for months have been promised safe passage to Beirut airport and then on to Turkey. At the same time, families and fighters in two besieged Shia towns in the mainly rebel-held north-western province of Idlib were heading to Turkey and were then due to fly to Beirut.
Zabadani was one of the rebels’ last strongholds along the border. Before the outbreak of the Syrian conflict it had also formed part of a supply route for weapons sent by Syria to the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.
The United Nations and foreign governments have tried to broker local ceasefires and safe passage as steps towards the goal of ending Syria’s civil war, in which more than 250,000 people have been killed since 2011.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments