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About 5,300 militants and members of their families left the Damascus subrub of Eastern Ghouta on March 28, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on March 29, according to the Russian state-run news agency TASS.
“Based on the agreements reached between the heads of the Russian Reconciliation Center for the Conflicting Sides on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic and the leaders of the Faylaq al-Ra·man group, the withdrawal of the group’s militants from the community of Arbin [Irbin] has been carried out since March 24. The number of militants wishing to end resistance and leave the area of Eastern Ghouta has not reduced: 5,290 militants and members of their families withdrew through the set up humanitarian corridor on March 28 and were taken to the Idlib province by 89 buses,” TASS quoted the statement.
Accordign to the military, 24,912 militants and their families have been moved from Ibrin to the province of Idlib since the start of the deal implementation.
So, how many militants Eastern Ghouta did have, 30 000?! And they got beaten just in one month of military operations… that’s amazing!
That’s 30.000 AND family members. So add a wife, maybe two (they’re fanatical muslims of course), several kids and a number of less then 10.000 actual fighters seems far more likely. I remember reading a SF article from before this operation, when Al Nusra almost had a deal to evacuate, which said the total number of Al Nusra fighers in EG was around 700+.
I also remember reading about the total SAA strength a couple of years ago, at the start of the Russian intervention and it said was 80.000. The rest is mostly local NDF, about two brigades of Hezbollah and a couple of thousand of Iranians IRGC. The Tigers themselves seem to be at about battalion strength. Probably less then a thousand.