"The city of Al-Tall in the Damascus province which had a pre-war population of over 60 thousand, fell under full control of the Syrian Armed Forces," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The area was previously held by the Nusra Front militant group, an al-Qaeda affiliate outlawed as a terrorist organization in many countries, including Syria and Russia.
"The opposition militants took advantage of the amnesty, announced by the President of Syria. They stopped fighting and through negotiations expressed the desire to flee [from Al-Tall] to Idlib. Before the departure, they handed the government forces all their heavy weapons, as well as over 200 units of small arms and ammunition," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The disarmament, mediated by the Russian military, was arranged as part of a regional ceasefire. The Syrian government organized rebels’ transfer to Idlib aboard 44 buses.
Thousands of Syrian rebels have been granted amnesty by the Syrian government in the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry added.
"Over 2,500 militants have been granted amnesty in various parts of Syria in the past week," the Ministry’s reconciliation center in Hmeymim said.
