Rebel fighters have been driven out of a key Damascus suburb, in a huge symbolic victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On Sunday, government forces recaptured the rebel stronghold of Qabun which lies just miles from the centre of the capital.

The success for the Syrian regime comes after three months of fighting in the area’s dense streets where it met fierce resistance from rebel groups.

Rather than fight to the end many of the rebels surrendered and left the city on Government buses.

Around 1,000 rebel fighters and their families were thought to have left Qabun in the latest stage of the six-year civil war.

Source: itv.com