DAMASCUS, April 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 40,000 civilians have returned home in the Syrian capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta, where the army nearly gained full control, the state news agency SANA reported Tuesday.
The return of the civilians was still ongoing, as the Syrian army has recaptured all towns in Eastern Ghouta except for the last rebel stronghold of Douma district, where the Islam Army rebels have also agreed to evacuate recently.
Around 150,000 civilians left Eastern Ghouta last month as the rebels were evacuated from there following a relentless offensive by government troops.
In some towns, the civilians remained in their homes as the Syrian army entered the areas after the rebels fled.
A day earlier, SANA reported that 12,000 children from Eastern Ghouta returned to schools in the government-run shelters.
As the last batch of rebels are moving to the rebel-held area in the northern city of Jarablus, the situation in Eastern Ghouta is returning to normal, allowing the families to return home.
Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, used to be occupied by several rebel groups, who posed the last threat to the capital by firing shells into Damascus' government-controlled neighborhoods.
