Assad regime 'takes full control' of Eastern Ghouta as rebels leave Douma

Russian television showed footage of the Syrian regime's red, white and black flag with two green stars hanging from an unidentified building

MENA

3 min read

The New Arab & agencies

12 April, 2018

[Syrian regime flag raised in Douma [Twitter

The Syrian regime flag was raised in Douma, Russian officials said. [Twitter]

Syrian regime forces took full control over the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, the Russian defence ministry said, raising the regime flag over the town of Douma.

"Today a significant event in the history of Syria took place. The raising of a regime flag over a building in the town of Douma signified control over this town and consequently over Eastern Ghouta as a whole," Major General Yury Yevtushenko, head of the Russian military's centre for reconciliation in Syria, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Russian television showed footage of the Syrian regime's red, white and black flag with two green stars hanging from an unidentified building, while cheering crowds waved flags in among shell-damaged buildings.

The Syrian regime itself has yet to officially announce it has fully retaken Douma, which was the last part of the erstwhile rebel enclave on the eastern edge of Damascus to escape its control.

The Russian defence ministry also said its military police had begun patrolling Douma, after announcing their planned deployment the day before.

"From today, units of the Russian armed forces' military police are working in the town of Douma. They are a guarantee of the observance of law and order in the town," the defence ministry said in a statement, RIA Novosti news agency reported.


Read all of our Eastern Ghouta coverage here

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.