Russia announced on Thursday that the Syrian regime flag was flying in the town of Douma, signalling President Bashar Al Assad's control of Eastern Ghouta.
The Syrian government, however, has yet to officially announce it has fully retaken Eastern Ghouta's main town – the last part of the former rebel enclave on the eastern edge of Damascus.
"Today a significant event in the history of Syria took place. The raising of a regime flag over a building in the town of Douma signified control over this town and consequently over Eastern Ghouta as a whole," Major General Yury Yevtushenko, head of the Russian military's centre for reconciliation in Syria, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Russian television showed footage of the Syrian government's red, white and black flag with two green stars hanging from an unidentified building, while cheering crowds waved flags in among shell-damaged buildings.
An aide to Iran's supreme leader called the capture of the suburbs by the regime military one of the most significant victories of the war.
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Read more:
Russia says operation in Eastern Ghouta is nearly over
At least 43 killed in one of the deadliest attacks in Damascus
Syria: Ghouta death toll reaches 1,400
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Speaking from Damascus on Thursday an aide to Iran's supreme leader said he hoped Syrian forces would soon move east of the Euphrates river and "expel the American occupiers".
Ali Akbar Velayati also said he hoped that rebel-held Idlib province would be next to fall to President Bashar Al Assad's forces.
The Russian defence ministry said its military police had begun patrolling Douma, after announcing their planned deployment the day before.
"From today, units of the Russian armed forces' military police are working in the town of Douma. They are a guarantee of the observance of law and order in the town," the defence ministry said in a statement, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Russian military police have been in Douma this week as part of a deal with Jaish Al Islam, the rebel group that controlled the area for years.
Several thousands of its fighters were still in the town on Thursday and there was no immediate confirmation that any regime forces had entered the city.
The Russian military said the situation in Douma was normalising and a total of 166,644 people had been evacuated from the city through a humanitarian corridor.
A top Syrian rebel official told AFP on Thursday that his faction only agreed to abandon its battered enclave outside Damascus because of an alleged toxic gas attack.
"Of course, the chemical attack is what pushed us to agree" to a withdrawal from Douma, said Yasser Dalwan, a high-ranking member of the Jaish al-Islam faction that held the town.
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The five pillars of Islam
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
