The key rebel group in the last significant centre of resistance in the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta has reportedly struck a deal for fighters and civilians to leave, in what would be a major victory for Bashar al-Assad.



According to media and sources allied with the Assad regime, a deal brokered by Russia – Assad’s main supporter – will allow fighters from Jaish al-Islam to leave the town of Douma, paving the way for government forces to retake the rest of the one-time rebel enclave on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.

There was no immediate confirmation from the rebels, but the pro-regime newspaper al-Watan, quoting “diplomatic sources”, said that under the agreement the fighters would give up heavy weapons and leave Douma for northern Syria.

A media unit run by Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that has been fighting with the Syrian government, said a Syrian government-approved local council would run the city’s affairs after rebels withdraw.

If confirmed, the deal would mark the culmination of stop-start negotiations over the town as Jaish al-Islam has reiterated its refusal to surrender.



A council member of the opposition-controlled town however said that all that had been agreed was that “humanitarian cases” would be allowed to evacuate on Monday.

Reports late on Saturday said an initial deal had been made to evacuate wounded people from the town. A civilian committee taking part in the negotiations with Russia said a deal had been reached “to evacuate humanitarian cases to northern Syria”. It gave no further details, nor did it say when the planned evacuations would start.

On Saturday Syria’s army vowed to finish off rebels in Douma, saying it would press ahead with its offensive against the town.

Douma is the last large urban centre in the eastern suburbs of Damascus to remain in insurgent hands and its retaking would mark a milestone in Assad’s efforts to regain territory lost to rebels in the seven-year civil war.

The once bustling commercial hub is deeply symbolic, not least because of its role as the main centre in the Damascus suburbs of the 2011 street protests against Assad’s rule that ignited the conflict.

Fighters from Failaq al-Rahman, a second rebel group that evacuated most of the towns under its control inside the enclave on Saturday, appeared to be the first to quit Douma on Sunday, giving some credence to the claims of a deal clearing the way for fighters to leave.

Talks with Jaish al-Islam for the evacuation of Douma, however, have dragged on for several days, with residents growing nervous.

Assad and his backers have inflicted a series of bloody defeats on rebel forces in recent years, often through campaigns of siege, aerial bombardment and ground offensives that have drawn widespread international condemnation.

The populous agricultural area of eastern Ghouta has been the target of a fierce offensive in recent weeks.

A UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Sunday’s deal would allow Jaish al-Islam fighters and their families, as well as civilians who wanted to leave, to travel to rebel-held areas in the northern province of Aleppo.

These included the areas of Jarabulus and al-Bab, which are largely held by pro-Turkey rebels, it said. It would also allow Russian military police to enter the town and government institutions to return to the area, the monitor said.

Regime forces had already retaken more than 95% of eastern Ghouta in a six-week air and ground blitz that has killed hundreds of civilians and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis called for an end to “carnage” in Syria in his Easter message. “Today we implore fruits of peace upon the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria,” the pontiff said.

The deal to evacuate Douma – and Jaish al-Islam – follows a series of evacuation deals with other fighters in locations around the enclave, with more than 45,000 fighters and civilians bussed out in recent weeks.

More than 4,000 people left the devastated town of Harasta last week under a deal with the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group.