BEIRUT: Hundreds of Syrian rebels and civilians started leaving the Lebanon-Syria border area on Monday after a deal was reached for their departure following days of delay, the media arm of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said.

In Beirut, meanwhile, the United State handed over to the Lebanese army eight Bradley Fighting Vehicles, part of a total of 32 that will be delivered over the coming months. The military aid is aimed at helping Lebanon combat extremist groups and prevent further spillover from neighbouring Syria.

At the border, buses carrying members of the Levant People’s Brigades rebel group started moving from the Lebanese border town of Arsal in the direction of the Syrian village of Fleeta.

The evacuation comes nearly two weeks after more than 7,000 Syrians, many of them Al Qaeda-linked fighters and their families, left Arsal following a Hezbollah offensive.

The Levant People’s Brigades, whose members did not take part in last month’s battles, will be heading to the Syrian town of Ruhaiba, about 50 kilometres northeast of the Syrian capital, Damascus, where they will return to normal life following an amnesty by the state, according to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2017