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Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Jan Egeland, said the mission had been the largest such evacuation in the conflict and that he believed it had been completed successfully. It followed complex negotiations, and involved the Syrian Red Crescent rescuing equal numbers of people from two pairs of towns. Two of the towns, Zabadani and Madaya, are being blockaded by pro-government forces; the others, al-Foua and Kefraya are under siege by rebels. (Pic: Fighters from a coalition of rebel groups called 'Army of Fatah' and members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near buses and ambulances on the outskirts of Idlib city, preparing to enter the two besieged Shi'ite towns of al-Foua and Kefraya to evacuate people, Syria April 20, 2016. Credit: Reuters)