Syria war: Evacuations begin in besieged towns

The Syrian government and rebel groups have begun an operation to move people out of four besieged towns, activists say.

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People from the north-western towns of Foah and Kefraya are being taken to government-held areas near Aleppo.

Evacuees from rebel-held Madaya, near Damascus, have been bussed to Idlib province. It is not clear if nearby Zabadani, included in the deal, is also being evacuated.

More than 30,000 people will be moved.

Last month, the UN described the situation in the four towns as "catastrophic", with more than 64,000 civilians "trapped in a cycle of daily violence and deprivation".

Many people are reported to have died as a result of shortages of food or medicine.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Syria pledged to investigate a suspected chemical attack in Syria earlier this month that the West has blamed on the Syrian government.

But Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already said reports of a chemical attack committed by his forces were "100% fabrication".

'Starving to death' in Madaya
Madaya, where children resort to suicide
Why is there a war in Syria?

Foah and Kefraya, most of whose residents are Shia Muslims, have been encircled by rebels and al-Qaeda-linked Sunni jihadists since March 2015.

Madaya and Zabadani, which are predominantly Sunni, have meanwhile been besieged since June 2015 by the Syrian army and fighters from Lebanon's Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement.