BEIRUT – Syrian state TV says the military is destroying a tunnel network that linked rebel-controlled towns which are being evacuated as part of a population transfer.
Government media says the area between Madaya and Zabadani comes under military control after gunmen and opposition activists were evacuated.
The evacuations from the two towns, and the northern pro-government villages of Foua and Kfarya, resume after being delayed by a bombing that killed more than 120 pro-government evacuees on Saturday.
Al-Ikhbariyah TV says medical aid and bread are being distributed to the residents of Madaya and nearby Baqeen. Images of starved children in besieged Madaya in late 2015 caused an international uproar but the government-imposed siege continued.
Critics say the string of evacuations, which could see some 30,000 people move across battle lines over 60 days, rewards siege tactics and amounts to forced displacement along political and sectarian lines.
— AP
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