The departure of the remaining militants and their families from the Al-Wa’er District of Homs, Sunday, has left the provincial capital fully under the government’s control for the first time since 2011.
Over the course of two months, the militants and their families holed-up in Al-Wa’er were transported in twelve batches from the district to the northern Aleppo city of Jarabulus on the Turkish border.
Initially, the last batch of militants was scheduled to be transported from Al-Wa’er on May 12th; however, many of the civilians that chose to leave the district had requested to return from Jarabulus.
While many civilians have since returned to the district from the Turkish border, Al-Wa’er has been declared militant-free by Governor Talal Barazi of Homs, which means the government will reopen the area to the public.