The UN’s top aid official in Syria said an evacuation of civilians was expected on Tuesday out of the Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave, where the military has waged a fierce offensive. Syrian government forces have captured more than half the enclave, splintering it as they seek to crush the last major rebel bastion near the capital Damascus. “This day, we are expecting evacuation of civilians, including people with medical conditions,” the UN’s resident humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Ali al-Za’tari, told Reuters at al-Wafideen crossing near Douma, without elaborating. The United Nations has previously called for the evacuation of nearly 1,000 sick and wounded people who need urgent medical treatment. Still, Hamza Birqdar, the faction’s military spokesman, vowed on Tuesday that the fighters would defend the Ghouta till the end.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 13, 2018 07:30 UTC