Syrian armed forces appear to have retaken the contested Barada Valley area north of Damascus, the capital’s main source of water, signaling a possible end to a war-induced shortage that has left millions of inhabitants thirsty and dirty for six weeks.

Syrian government news media reported on Monday that hundreds of rebel fighters and their families had evacuated the Barada Valley, under an agreement reached on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an outside monitoring group, corroborated the government account, saying ambulances and buses had been seen taking evacuees to other rebel-held areas, and that government soldiers and allied militia fighters were in control.

The Barada Valley agreement expanded areas of Syria adhering to a tenuous nationwide cease-fire negotiated by Russia, the Syrian government’s chief ally, and Turkey, which supports some rebel groups that have been fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.