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Sunni and Shia Populations Swap between Four Towns in Syria
(Independent-UK) Laila Bassam - The transfer of the Shia populations of two Syrian towns, in exchange for moving Sunni rebels and civilians out of two others, has started under an evacuation deal, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday. Buses carrying residents left the majority Shia towns of al-Foua and Kefraya in northwestern Idlib province. Buses carrying mostly Sunni rebel fighters and their families simultaneously left the town of Madaya near Damascus, while the evacuation of Zabadani had been delayed. Syrian President Assad's government has struck a number deals in the past year which have provided for rebels and their families to leave areas the opposition has held, after months or years of being besieged by government forces. The opposition says the deals amount to forced population transfer and deliberate demographic change.