Opposition fighters leave Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta

Syrian state TV has shown pictures of what it says is the first group of opposition fighters to leave Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta and reach areas controlled by the government.

The footage shows 13 men getting onto a bus and arriving at a crossing point where they hand themselves over to authorities.

Syrian rebel group Jaish al-Islam agreed to the evacuation after meeting with a delegation that entered with a UN aid convoy.

Almost two-and-a-half thousand food parcels able to sustain 12,000 people for one month were delivered to hunger-stricken residents - despite the nearby bombardment.

Nearly 950 civilians have been killed since Russia-backed government forces launched a new wave of violence on the last opposition bastion near Damascus in mid February.