Thousands of Syrian civilians have finally been
allowed to leave the besieged Damascus suburb of
Muadhamiya.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet, who was at the scene, describes
a tide of desperate people leaving the area, which has
been closed off since March.
Supplies in Muadhamiya had been running desperately
short, and residents had pleaded to be saved from
starvation.
The exodus of civilians has been made possible by an
apparent relaxation of a blockade by government
forces.
The Syrian army had previously said that rebel-held
areas of Damascus such as Muadhamiya could
surrender or starve.
At least three of Damascus's suburbs - Yarmouk,
Eastern Ghouta and Muadhamiya - have been besieged
by government forces for several months.
The situation has become so desperate that earlier this
month Muslim clerics issued a religious ruling allowing
people to eat cats, dogs and donkeys just to survive.
Those animals are usually considered unfit for human
consumption in Islam.
Eating grass
For months, the UN and other aid agencies have been
calling for urgent help, fearing the worst for the people
of Muadhamiya.
"We didn't see a piece of bread for nine months," one
woman told the BBC. "We were eating leaves and
grass."
The Minister for Social Affairs, Kinda Al Shamamat, who
was overseeing the evacuation, has accused rebel
gunmen - whom she describes as terrorists - of
infiltrating Muadhamiya.
But rebel fighters - who have stayed behind in the
suburb - accuse the government of trying to starve
them into submission.
Now that most civilians have fled, the battle will
intensify, our correspondent says.
Polio outbreak
The World Health Organization has confirmed 10 cases
of polio in Syria - the first outbreak in the country in
14 years.
The UN body says a further 12 cases are still being
investigated.
Before Syria's civil war began in 2011, some 95% of
children in the country were vaccinated against the
disease, but now an estimated 500,000 children have
not been immunised.
There has been speculation that foreign groups fighting
in Syria may have imported polio into the country.
The disease has been largely eradicated in developed
countries but remains endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Meanwhile Syria's Deputy Prime Minister, Qadri Jamil,
was dismissed on Tuesday for leaving the country and
acting without government permission, state media
said.
Mr Jamil met US officials in Geneva over the weekend
to discuss peace negotiations, according to UN and
Middle East officials.
But the state news agency Sana said Mr Jamil had been
dismissed by President Bashar al-Assad "because he left
his centre of work without prior permission and did
not follow up on his duties".
"Additionally, he undertook activities outside the nation
without co-ordinating with the government," Sana said.
allowed to leave the besieged Damascus suburb of
Muadhamiya.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet, who was at the scene, describes
a tide of desperate people leaving the area, which has
been closed off since March.
Supplies in Muadhamiya had been running desperately
short, and residents had pleaded to be saved from
starvation.
The exodus of civilians has been made possible by an
apparent relaxation of a blockade by government
forces.
The Syrian army had previously said that rebel-held
areas of Damascus such as Muadhamiya could
surrender or starve.
At least three of Damascus's suburbs - Yarmouk,
Eastern Ghouta and Muadhamiya - have been besieged
by government forces for several months.
The situation has become so desperate that earlier this
month Muslim clerics issued a religious ruling allowing
people to eat cats, dogs and donkeys just to survive.
Those animals are usually considered unfit for human
consumption in Islam.
Eating grass
For months, the UN and other aid agencies have been
calling for urgent help, fearing the worst for the people
of Muadhamiya.
"We didn't see a piece of bread for nine months," one
woman told the BBC. "We were eating leaves and
grass."
The Minister for Social Affairs, Kinda Al Shamamat, who
was overseeing the evacuation, has accused rebel
gunmen - whom she describes as terrorists - of
infiltrating Muadhamiya.
But rebel fighters - who have stayed behind in the
suburb - accuse the government of trying to starve
them into submission.
Now that most civilians have fled, the battle will
intensify, our correspondent says.
Polio outbreak
The World Health Organization has confirmed 10 cases
of polio in Syria - the first outbreak in the country in
14 years.
The UN body says a further 12 cases are still being
investigated.
Before Syria's civil war began in 2011, some 95% of
children in the country were vaccinated against the
disease, but now an estimated 500,000 children have
not been immunised.
There has been speculation that foreign groups fighting
in Syria may have imported polio into the country.
The disease has been largely eradicated in developed
countries but remains endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Meanwhile Syria's Deputy Prime Minister, Qadri Jamil,
was dismissed on Tuesday for leaving the country and
acting without government permission, state media
said.
Mr Jamil met US officials in Geneva over the weekend
to discuss peace negotiations, according to UN and
Middle East officials.
But the state news agency Sana said Mr Jamil had been
dismissed by President Bashar al-Assad "because he left
his centre of work without prior permission and did
not follow up on his duties".
"Additionally, he undertook activities outside the nation
without co-ordinating with the government," Sana said.
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