MOSCOW, March 24, 2018 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said more than 105,000 people have left Syria's Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave, including another 700 on Saturday since government forces began an assault to retake it a month ago, RIA news agency reported, citing the military. RIA referred to evacuations taking place during "humanitarian pauses". Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main ally in the conflict, ordered daily five-hour ceasefires and the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" to allow civilians to leave Eastern Ghouta. In the event, the offensive - among the fiercest of the seven-year civil war - was largely carried out in defiance of international pleas to halt and honor a truce, and about 90 per cent of eastern Ghouta is back under government control. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed "concern" over Turkey's military offensive in Afrin in Syria, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan it was vital that humanitarian aid be allowed to reach the area. In a statement released by his office on Saturday, the Elysee said that Macron had talked with Erdogan via telephone on Friday. And during that conversation, the French leader had emphasised the "strategic importance of our partnership with Turkey, particularly in the fight against terrorism and in all other regional crises." In another development, Syrian government forces have entered the town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta after the last units of the Ahrar al-Sham militant group left the area, Syrian state television reported on Saturday, adding that de-miners had begun to clear mines. A senior military commander told the state TV that "Harasta has been fully cleared of terrorists," which is "a huge success for all Syrians." The second stage of militant exit from the town of Harasta located in Syria's Eastern Ghouta was completed on Friday. According to Syrian state TV, in the past two days, as many as 4,614 people, including 1,485 militants, left the town to travel by buses to the Idlib province, controlled by the armed opposition. A capitulation agreement was reached by the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria and Ahrar al-Sham leaders. Leaders of the Failak Ar-Rahman militant group, controlling the Arbin, Ein Tarma and Zamalka suburbs of Damascus, as well as the Damascus municipality of Jobar, also announced readiness to withdraw their units from Eastern Ghouta. The state TV says around 7,000 people, including militants and their families, will leave these areas. According to the agreement, terrorists from the Jabhat al-Nusra group, who fought on the side of Failak Ar-Rahman, will also go to the Idlib province. The town of Douma (12 kilometers away from Damascus), held by the Jaish al-Islam militants, remains the armed opposition's main stronghold in Eastern Ghouta.
