Nusra Front fighters withdrew from the towns of Beit Sahem and Babbila, south of Damascus, on Wednesday.
The withdrawal came under after pressure from daily demonstrations over the past weeks, where people called on the organization to withdraw from the two towns. Assad's regime has also permitted the entry of trucks loaded with food parcels and bread, under the auspice of the Syrian Red Crescent, through the Babbila- Sidi Miqdad main crossing to the south of Damascus. Some 1,000 food packages are to be delivered to each town, in addition to 1,000 packages of bread.
Two days earlier, the regime permitted the entry of 1,000 food parcels and some medical supplies, following the closure of the crossing for 31 days – leading to a remarkable rise in food prices. The towns of Babbila and Beit Sahem have lived under a truce between rebels and the regime since February 2014.
Currently, food aid entering the towns is insufficient to feed the approximate 8,000 families, according to the Damascus Media Office. The two towns are home to hundreds of displaced families from the towns of Sbaineh, Hujairah, Buwaidah and ath-Thiyabiyah, which have been under Assad’s control since late 2013.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
