BEIRUT, August 22 (RIA Novosti) – Hundreds of Syrian citizens have returned home to southern neighborhoods of Damascus, namely Qadam, Essali and Bor Said, thanks to reconciliation process, Al Mayadeen television channel reported Friday.
Utility and engineering services undertook the restoration of the Syrian capital Damascus, while electricity and water supply are expected to be resumed in the nearest future, according to local authorities.
Earlier this week, Syrian authorities and militants reached a reconciliation deal in the major areas south of Damascus. The deal stipulates that the government will not prosecute the rebels who lay down their weapons.
Since March 2011, an armed conflict has been taking place in Syria that has claimed the lives of more than 190,000 people, according to the latest UN report. Rural areas surrounding the Damascus, as well as flashpoint cities of Aleppo, Homs and Idlib, account for the most deaths.
Government troops are confronted by militias belonging to different armed groups. The most active are Islamic State (IS) militants, who led an assault on the northern and western regions of Iraq in early June, and announced the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria on June 29.
