In Syria, evacuation underway of pro-government villages
19/7/2018 17:13
Syrian state media are reporting that over 7,000 people from two pro-government villages in the country's northwest besieged by the rebels for three years have started to leave their homes. The evacuation started on Thursday. It's expected to empty the villages of Foua and Kfarya of their residents in a deal negotiated over the last few months between the government and rebels. In exchange, the government is expected to release a number of jailed insurgents. The village evacuation was used as a negotiating chip in earlier population transfers along conflict lines. The United Nations wasn't part of the negotiations and has criticized such transfers as forced displacement. An agreement to evacuate the villages last year halted after a car bombing killed over 100 people at a parking lot for buses.
|
|