Syrians from the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region, just outside Damascus, cross a regime-controlled corridor in Hamouria in Eastern Ghouta, after leaving the besieged enclave towards government areas on March 16, 2018. (AFP photo)
DAMASCUS, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army said Friday it had captured 70 percent of rebel-held areas in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital Damascus.
In a statement, the general command of the Syrian army said tens of towns in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus have been recaptured by the Syrian army.
The statement said thousands of people have fled Eastern Ghouta through humanitarian corridors set up by the Syrian army in Eastern Ghouta.
The army called on the people to leave the rebel-held areas in Eastern Ghouta, stressing resolve to continue fighting till restoring stability and security to all of Syria.
Meanwhile, Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria's permanent representative to the UN, said Friday that 40,000 people evacuated Eastern Ghouta on Thursday alone.
Thousands of people also fled Eastern Ghouta on Friday, with the authorities organizing their evacuation and transfer into shelters near the capital.
Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, constitutes the last threat to Damascus given its proximity to government-controlled neighborhoods east of the capital and continuing mortar attacks on residential areas there.
Four major rebel groups are currently positioned inside Eastern Ghouta, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
The UN humanitarian agencies have sounded the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation for 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta, where activists said around 1,000 have been killed since a military showdown between rebels and the government late February.
