Summary
Syria rebels begin to evacuate Eastern Ghouta
A main Syrian rebel group agreed to a cease-fire effective at midnight to negotiate their exit from Eastern Ghouta to Damascus as another faction withdrew from the enclave Thursday, the first such surrender to the government since one of the fiercest campaigns of the 7-year-old war began more than a month ago.
Syrian state media said the buses carried 1,580 people including 413 rebel fighters given safe passage to northwestern Syria.
Government airstrikes pummeled parts of Eastern Ghouta Thursday morning, striking Arbin and Zamalka and killing some 19 people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war activist group.
Douma is the most populous area in Eastern Ghouta and for more than a week it has been entirely surrounded by the government.
The Syrian government and Russia accuse rebels in Eastern Ghouta of preventing civilians from leaving to use them as human shields, which the rebels deny.
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