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Syria: Rebels surrender to Assad’s forces in eastern Ghouta

Syrian Islamists withdrew in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta and handed it over to the Syrian army, in what appeared to be the first such surrender since one of the fiercest campaigns since the seven-year conflict began. The decision to accept the terms imposed by Damascus and abandon the town of Harasta was made by the most powerful group in the area, called Ahrar al-Sham, which is an alliance of Islamist and Salafist militants with links to Al-Qaeda. The surrender marks a significant victory for President Bashar Assad and his allies, similar to the one declared in the northern city of Aleppo. Meanwhile, the Islamist rebels were transported by buses to the northwestern province of Idlib, an area still controlled by Islamist militant groups, where the main militia ‘Tehrir al Sham’ – a Salafist jihadist alliance – is currently on a defensive of its own against the Syrian army alongside Iranian backed militias.