Islamic State (Isil) fighters on Sunday started evacuating the Yarmouk camp area in southern Damascus, a key step towards the Syrian government retaking total control of the capital.

Fighters and their families left the Zahra area adjacent to the camp, which they had controlled since April 2015, on buses early yesterday morning.

According to activists, six buses, each with seats for 50 people, left the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the buses were headed towards the Syrian Badia, a desolate stretch of desert east of Damascus that extends to the border with Jordan and Iraq.