Syrian Military Calls on Militants in Damascus Suburbs to Lay Down Arms

Syrian government troops spread agitation leaflets calling on militants in Qaboun, a north-eastern neighborhood of the country's capital of Damascus, to lay down arms and receive amnesty, preventing, thus, bloodshed, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik on Saturday.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — According to the source, Syrian armed forces' command hopes that militants will agree with the conditions of July 2016 decree issued by Syrian President Bashar Assad, officially confirming amnesty for rebels who lay down arms, in bid to promote national reconciliation in Syria. Thus, there will be no need for launching an operation in Qaboun, which would only lead to unnecessary casualties.

"The leaflets were delivered to the militants in Qaboun with the help of ten 122-mm special shells. They differ from the operational combat shells by having a very small detonating charge, designated for dispersing leaflets. Each shell contained 1,000 leaflets of A6 size," the source said.

On Friday, evacuation from four besieged Syrian towns, namely, Fua, Kefraya, Madaya and Zabadani started as part of population swap deal between Damascus and opposition forces agreed in March in the framework of national reconciliation program.

According to Syria's government data, 2,350 people were evacuated from Zabadani, while some 5,000 people were transported from Shiite populated Fua and Kefraya. After the swap, Madaya went under control of government forces.