Hours later, as rescuers lined up bodies in the street, the rebels agreed to hand over the town and be bused with their families to another rebel-held area. Douma, a modest town northwest of Damascus that had been controlled by the opposition since the early years of the uprising, had been the last rebel-held town in an area known as Eastern Ghouta. On Friday, negotiations with the rebels collapsed and the Syrian government began a new offensive against the town, heavily shelling it while jets and helicopters bombed it from above, residents said. It was unclear what happened to the rest of the bodies, but residents said their families had either buried them or left them behind. Mr. Bweidany planned to leave Douma because he feared getting arrested by the government or drafted into its military.

Source: New York Times April 12, 2018 00:06 UTC