Syrian rebels in Muadamiyat Al-Sham to surrender

Syrian rebels have communicated a proposal to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad that will see them surrender the town of Muadamiyat Al-Sham to the regime, Al Jazeera reported today.

According to the report, the proposal includes an offer to withdraw 950 anti-regime fighters and their families to areas around Idlib already under opposition control. The rebels have requested that they be allowed to take their small arms with them when they leave.

Yesterday, the Assad regime threatened to intensify its bombing and shelling of Muadamiyat Al-Sham, ten kilometres southwest of Damascus, if the rebels do not surrender the town to its forces and completely disarm.

According to residents, the regime warned that it would ramp up its operations in coordination with Russian forces in order to decisively and militarily end any opposition in the town that has been besieged since 2013.

However, sources now indicate that Damascus is now studying the rebels’ offer of surrender before giving its response.

Muadamiyat Al-Sham is very close to Darayya, another town on the outskirts of Damascus. Similar to the deal currently being proffered by the rebels in Muadamiyat Al-Sham, the armed opposition in Darayya surrendered their territory to the regime last month, withdrawing to Idlib along with some civilians.