BEIRUT: Syrian rebels left one besieged enclave on Friday and agreed to abandon another, leaving only the city of Douma still in insurgent hands in eastern Ghouta after a month-long army assault to drive them from the stronghold near Damascus. Syrian state television broadcast the departure of rebels and their families. Rebel rocket fire has killed scores of people during the army offensive on eastern Ghouta, state television has reported including in a strike that hit a market place on Tuesday. The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast was caused by rebels detonating their arsenal before departing. The United Nations estimates more than 50,000 people have fled besieged areas of eastern Ghouta in the past two weeks.

Source: New Strait Times March 23, 2018 23:37 UTC