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Buses to evacuate the rebels and their families enter the city of Harasta in east of the capital Damascus, Syria, on March. 22, 2018. As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta.

The number includes 600 rebels, and the rest are members of their families, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Some 40 busses are ready to transport the rebels and their families out of Harasta in the Eastern Ghouta countryside toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

The 2,000 people are the first batch of around 7,500 in total, including 1,500 rebels and 6,000 civilians, set to leave Harasta, in a process that is expected to take two days.

Earlier on Thursday, the Syrian army removed barriers at the entrance of Harasta as a prelude to the evacuation of the militants and their families.

The evacuation agreement was supposed to kick off, in terms of the actual evacuation of civilians and the rebels, at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), but was pushed back for several hours and the evacuees will depart in two batches.

The civilians, who are not wishing to go with the rebels, will remain in Harasta, a key bastion of the Ahrar al-Sham group.

The evacuation of the rebels from Harasta will mark the first major departure of rebels from Eastern Ghouta area after thousands of civilians fled several towns and areas in that sprawling countryside in recent days.

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A bus to evacuate the rebels and their families enters the city of Harasta east of the capital Damascus, Syria, on March. 22, 2018. As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

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Buses to evacuate the rebels and their families enter the city of Harasta east of the capital Damascus, Syria, on March. 22, 2018. As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

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Buses to evacuate the rebels and their families enter the city of Harasta east of the capital Damascus, Syria, on March. 22, 2018. As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

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Buses to evacuate the rebels and their families enter the city of Harasta east of the capital Damascus, Syria, on March. 22, 2018. As many as 2,000 people are expected to evacuate the rebel-held Harasta city in eastern Damascus on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua on the outskirts of Harasta. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

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