Assad regime 'takes full control' of Eastern Ghouta as rebels leave Douma
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Russian military police have had a presence inside Douma this week as part of a deal with Jaish al-Islam, the Islamist group that controlled the area for years.
Rebels surrender weapons
The remaining rebels in the battered Eastern Ghouta suburb surrendered their heavy weapons on Thursday as their leader left the enclave for the north.
"Jaish al-Islam fighters handed over their heavy weapons to Russian military police in the town of Douma on Wednesday," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Most of Jaish al-Islam's top brass, including their head Issam Buwaydani, left Douma and arrived in northern Syria on Wednesday evening," the Britain-based monitor said.
His departure came under a fraught deal for Douma announced last weekend, just hours after an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed dozens in the town.
Under the agreement, thousands of Jaish al-Islam fighters and civilians have been bussed out of Douma to opposition-controlled parts of Syria's Aleppo province.
It was unclear whether more evacuations would take place Thursday.
Ghouta was the opposition's main bastion on the edge of the capital and suffered a five-year regime siege before the ferocious assault that Moscow and Damascus began in February.
At least 1,600 civilians were killed in the Russian-backed regime assault.
Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since evolved into a complex and devastating civil war.