Syria rebels begin evacuating Daraa

Syrian rebels and their relatives began evacuating the southern city of Daraa yesterday under a deal to bring the "cradle" of the country's uprising back under government control.

The highly symbolic transfers came as Russian-backed government forces advanced in the neighbouring province of Quneitra, with air strikes pounding rebel positions perilously close to the Israeli-occupied Golan heights.

After securing Damascus in May, President Bashar al-Assad turned his attention to rebels in the strategically vital south, where protests against his rule first erupted seven years ago.

Nearly three weeks of bombardment saw beleaguered rebels agree with Russia earlier this month to hand over Daraa province, before reaching a similar deal for its capital this week.

In recent days, rebels have handed over heavy-duty arms and other equipment to government forces who entered the city's rebel-held southern districts for the first time in years to plant the national flag.

Yesterday, rebels and civilians who did not want to live under regime control were granted safe passage to opposition-held Idlib in Syria's northwest.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said an estimated 1,400 people were to be evacuated yesterday, including rebels from the city and broader province.

The regime fully regaining its rule over Daraa city will be a hugely symbolic blow to the opposition.

In 2011, teenagers were arrested for scrawling anti-Assad slogans on the walls of a school in the city, sparking mass protests against the government.

A brutal crackdown saw the movement develop into a full-fledged conflict that has since killed more than 350,000 people and displaced half the country's pre-war population.