A deal has been reached and completed between Syrian regime forces and rebel groups as of August 27 in the town of Darayya, 8 km southwest of Damascus. The agreement is a major setback for the opposition after several weeks of relentless bombardment by regime forces, including allegations by the Syrian Civil Defence group of napalm attacks to finally secure the rebel withdrawal.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says the deal, brokered by an ‘unknown party’ between Bashar Al-Assad’s regime and rebels groups of Ajnad al-Sham and the Martyrs of Islam (both allied with the Army of Conquest), stipulated the surrender of heavy and medium weapons to the regime followed by an immediate evacuation of rebels and any remaining civilians. Syrian state media reported on Friday that approximately 700 armed fighters would leave Darayya for the rebel-held province of Idlib, while approximately 4000 civilians would be transferred to government shelters. Reuters and the BBC, however, suggested that these numbers could have been as high as 800 and 8000 respectively. The SOHR confirmed upon completion of the deal on Saturday that the final number of those evacuated were 3200, including fighters. Civilians were transferred in buses with assistance from the medical charity Syrian Arab Red Crescent to shelter centers in Harjaleh at the west of Rif Dimashq and “other centers on the outskirts of the capital and its countryside.” Rebels were taken to Idlib as agreed, via the city of Hama. The deal also involved the transfer of prisoners and deceased regime forces soldiers to the government.

Darayya has been a hotspot for opposition to the regime since the war began and the site of two major massacres by government forces in August 2012 and January 2013. Its recapture marks a grave turn in the direction of the conflict, and symbolic victory for the Assad regime. The United Nations only provided one humanitarian aid mission to Darayya in the entire four years of the conflict which was in the form of a joint UN, Red Cross and Red Crescent food convoy this June. As a result, Al Jazeera suggested that the regime’s ‘starvation and surrender’ policy worked, with rebel fighters becoming increasingly concerned for remaining civilians, the majority being relatives of the opposition. Prior to the commencement of the conflict, Darayya was once home to over a quarter of a million people.

The UN has expressed concern over the deal, with UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura’s office claiming they were not consulted on the proceedings. This reinforces the popular sentiment that the deal was strongarmed by the Assad regime on their terms and the general lack of international oversight on local developments in the country. Despite the agreement stating that family members could join rebel fighters in their transfer to Idlib, the majority of the civilians that remained in Darayya were all in some way connected to the opposition. The civilian transfer to government shelters was one of the primary concerns of human rights observers, advocating that these civilians would be knowledgeable of key information wanted by the regime, furthering the possibility of human rights abuses in the form of interrogations and detention.

While the deal is a critical step in the cessation of hostilities in Damascus, the strategic importance of this territory, which is now back under Assad’s control, is disastrous for the opposition and crucial in the regime’s hold on the capital. A resolution to the conflict on Assad’s local terms would be devastating for the civilian population and the possibilities of enduring peace in Syria.