The combatants and the 4,000 civilians of Daraya (a suburb of Damascus, near Mezzeh) have accepted a «reconciliation agreement».

The combatants and their families were evacuated by bus to Idleb (in the North of the country), while the civilians and the 700 combatants who preferred to benefit from the amnesty were relocated in the Damascus area. The Syrian Arab Army entered the liberated sector on 27 August.

The combatants gave up their heavy and medium weaponry, while those who moved to Idleb were allowed to keep their handguns.

Since the July 2012 attack in Damascus (operation «Damascus Volcano», coordinated by France), Daraya was the main jihadist locality in the governorate.

The position of the combatants and their British military advisors had become untenable since the Syrian Arab Army took and encircled Moadamiyyat al-Cham in July.

The liberation of Daraya marks the end of the battle of the East Ghouta.

NB. This dispatch corrects the AFP dispatch.

Translation
Pete Kimberley