Activists: Hours before cease-fire, 37 killed in Syrian town
A cease-fire went into effect Friday after intense government attacks killed at least 37 people in an underground shelter, prompting a rebel group to call for negotiations to evacuate a new section of the besieged eastern Ghouta region near the capital Damascus, rescuers and a rebel spokesman said.
The cease-fire will mean the surrender of the second of three pockets in eastern Ghouta, where rebels have been holding up over the past years. On Thursday, hundreds streamed out of Harasta, the first pocket after a similar negotiated cease-fire and evacuation of armed fighters and civilians.
The rebel group Faylaq al-Rahman, which controls the second pocket, asked for the latest cease-fire after the intensified assault on territories it controls.
