MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent in Syria started to evacuate critical medical cases from Eastern Ghouta to Damascus, the ICRC Syria said on Wednesday.
"Tonight the @SYRedCrescent with @ICRC team started the evacuation of critical medical cases from #EasternGhouta to #Damascus," the ICRC Syria wrote on its Twitter page.
Tonight the @SYRedCrescent with @ICRC team started the evacuation of critical medical cases from #EasternGhouta to #Damascus. #Syria pic.twitter.com/Xqoy9HF7oz
— ICRC Syria (@ICRC_sy) December 26, 2017
The militant-held Eastern Ghouta region has been under siege since 2013. In late November, Russia brokered a two-day truce between Syrian government forces and opposition and militant groups in the area. The ceasefire has been extended since then. The region is also one of the four de-escalation zones created during the Astana talks on Syrian reconciliation.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara and Moscow were discussing the evacuation of some 500 civilians including 170 children and women from the besieged Damascus suburb.
