Syria Rebels Depart Eastern Ghouta Town on Government Buses in First Surrender

Syria Rebels Depart Eastern Ghouta Town on Government Buses in First Surrender
A girl looks at the camera during evacuations from the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 22, 2018. Reuters/Bassam Khabieh
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BEIRUT/DAMASCUS—Syrian rebels withdrew in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta on Thursday and handed it over to the army, the first such surrender since one of the fiercest campaigns of the seven-year war began more than a month ago.

The Ahrar al-Sham group’s decision to accept the army’s terms and abandon the town of Harasta puts the government on course for its biggest victory over rebels since the battle of Aleppo in 2016.