Several hundred wounded militants and their families, from opposing sides of the war in Syria, were evacuated from besieged areas on Monday in a complex deal that involved busing and flying them to neighboring countries.
The deal, carried out under the auspices of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, was the latest attempt to strike local agreements to calm the conflict before planned peace talks next month.
The exchange allowed wounded fighters and civilians to leave areas where they had been trapped: in Zabadani, the last rebel-held, mostly Sunni town along the Lebanese border; and the isolated, government-held, mostly Shiite towns of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib Province, which is held mainly by Sunni insurgent groups.
Photo: Reuters
The logistics seemed to come off smoothly, despite the challenges of coordination and moving through hostile territory and crossing the borders of Turkey, which backs insurgents in Syria, and Lebanon, whose most powerful faction, the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, supports the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Yet deep questions remained about the deal’s context and implications. It was unclear what would become of the many civilians and fighters remaining in the towns, as well as in Madaya, a town neighboring Zabadani that is besieged by pro-government forces, and was not included in the deal.
Nisrine, a schoolteacher reached in Madaya, said she was thrilled that her husband, Ahmad, was among the fighters evacuated from Zabadani to Turkey for treatment, but concerned about what would happen to her and their nine-year-old son.
“Happiness is mixed with heartbreak,” she said. “We’re not together.”
She added that her husband was “delighted, but worried about us at the same time. We are still besieged and facing starvation.”
Southern Beirut, where Hezbollah is popular, was in a celebratory mood on Monday night, as fighters arrived from the Shiite villages. Hezbollah has sent thousands of fighters to Syria and the organization’s flags lined the airport road.
There were concerns that the agreement could eventually amount to a swap of ethnic populations, moving Shiites from al-Foua and Kefraya to friendlier territory in Lebanon or government-held parts of Syria, and moving Sunnis to Turkey or to rebel-held areas of Syria.
Population exchange was not officially part of the deal, which was initially struck between Hezbollah and rebels in Zabadani months ago, only to be thrown into turmoil by Russia’s unexpected military intervention on the side of al-Assad.
In any case, that the complex operation could happen at all was impressive after years of hostility and broken accords.
More than 300 people left al-Foua and Kefraya on buses to Turkey, while 123 left Zabadani for Lebanon. The convoys were escorted by ambulances and Red Cross and Red Crescent workers.
After medical checks, the rebels evacuated to Lebanon were flown to Turkey, and the pro-government fighters evacuated to Turkey were flown to Lebanon. The wounded are to be treated in hospitals, and then they will be allowed to enter Syrian territory that is presumably friendlier for them.
The deal comes amid efforts to restart talks between the Syrian government and its opponents, set to start next month, but without a clear basis for progress. UN special envoy for Syria crisis Staffan de Mistura has rested his hopes on a set of local ceasefires he hopes could build to a nationwide truce.
However, those efforts have come amid continuing atrocities: Heavy bombardment of civilian areas by government and allied warplanes, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians by insurgents.
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