Around 7,000 Syrians besieged by militants in Idlib have been evacuated in a prison swap with the government, ending a years-long nightmare as the final battle for the jihadist stronghold looms, RT’s Murad Gazdiev reports.

After months of stalling, the remaining residents of Foua and Kefraya, two predominantly Shiite towns in Syria’s Idlib governorate, have been evacuated in exchange for militant fighters and their families.

READ MORE: Thousands evacuated from two besieged towns in northwestern Syria

A previous attempt to ferry Shiites out of the area was thwarted by a suicide bomber who killed over a hundred people, half of them children, adding to the trauma experienced by the besieged civilians.

But video footage of teary-eyed civilians embracing their loved ones shows that this most recent evacuation was more successful. With the remaining townspeople now out of harm’s way, government forces are now gearing up for the final battle for Idlib, Murad Gazdiev reports.

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