Syria Army Moves Into Yarmuk After IS Evacuations End

Beirut, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :Evacuations of Islamic State group fighters from their final stronghold in Syria's capital ended on Monday, bringing President Bashar al-Assad closer to a major milestone in the seven-year war.

With a blend of military pressure and negotiated withdrawals, Assad has flushed rebels out of key territory around Damascus in recent months, leaving a last pocket of IS fighters in the capital's south.

His troops and allied Palestinian militiamen have fought since April 19 to recapture the area covering the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk and the adjacent districts of Qadam, Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad. A ceasefire at the weekend ushered in a brief wave of evacuations that wrapped up at around midday on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.