Residents, fighters evacuate from four besieged Syria towns

The evacuation of four towns besieged by rebels and government forces began on Friday under a deal brokered by opposition backer Qatar and regime ally Iran.

The initial phase of the operation, which involves a coordinated population swap of tens of thousands of people, involved at least 80 buses, an AFP correspondent in rebel-held Rashidin, west of Aleppo city, said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the beginning of the evacuation.

Activists said buses carrying rebels began leaving the rebel-held towns Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, on Friday morning.

The deal will also see the evacuation of residents from two pro-government Shia villages in northern Syria. All 16,000 residents of Fuaa and Kafraya are expected to leave, heading to government-held Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia or Damascus. 

More than 30,000 people are expected to be evacuated under the deal, which began on Wednesday with an exchange of prisoners between rebels and government forces.

Last month, the UN described the situation in the four towns as "catastrophic", with more than 64,000 civilians "trapped in a cycle of daily violence and deprivation".

Many people are reported to have died as a result of shortages of food or medicine.