MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. More than 42,000 people have left the Syrian town of Douma located in Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus since February 28, Chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides in Syria Major General Yuri Yevtushenko said on Thursday.

"Since February 28, 42,734 people have come out of the populated locality of Douma. Since the beginning of the humanitarian operation, 166,644 people have been helped to leave Eastern Ghouta with participation of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides," he said.

According to Yevtushenko, the exit of remaining extremists and their families from Douma is drawing to a close along the humanitarian corridor near the village of Al-Wafideen.

"While coming out, fighters of the Jaysh al-Islam group have handed six units of arms, 3,000 ammunition, five hand-grenades and 31 radio transceivers to representatives of the center for reconciliation of conflicting sides," the general said.

The center’s officers held a working meeting with a co-chair of the National Reconciliation Committee and a member of the executive body of Rif Dimashq province’s administration. The meeting focused on infrastructure reconstruction in recently retaken from militants populated localities of Nashabiya, Jaubar and Jisrein in Eastern Ghouta.

The center distributed one tonne of fresh bread in the city of Aleppo.

Work is in full swing to normalize the situation in other Syrian regions. Drinking water was delivered to Marrat, Deir ez-Zor province. Russian medical doctors provided treatment to 124 Syrians, including 52 children.

Over the past 24 hours, 174 refugees have returned to their homes in Hama province, 200 - in the Homs province and 432 more - in the Deir ez-Zor province.

 

Russian reconciliation center

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.