SYRIA-CONFLICT-EVACUATION

Evacuees board buses with their belongings on top as Syrian rebels and their families were being evacuated from the town of Yalda on the outskirts of Damascus on May 4, 2018, under a negotiated withdrawal to secure the last opposition holdouts of the capital. The evacuees are heading to opposition-held parts of northern Syria. Beit Saham, Yalda, and Babila had for several years fallen under a "reconciliation" agreement with the Syrian state, meaning they remained in rebel hands but a local ceasefire was enforced. But after capturing the Eastern Ghouta rebel stronghold outside Damascus last month, regime forces have sought to secure the entirety of the capital and its surroundings with a blend of military operations and negotiated withdrawals (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)