<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Russian military has said it had managed to evacuate 52 civilians, including 26 children, from Syria's rebel-held eastern Ghouta after talks with local authorities.&nbsp;</span></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">In a statement, the military yesterday said the civilians, inhabitants of the town of Misraba, were taken to a temporary refugee camp.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Fierce fighting is continuing in Ghouta and the Syrian army has said it has surrounded a major town in the rebel-held enclave and trying to liberate the last major opposition stronghold near the capital Damscus. More than 1,000 civilians have been reported killed in recent weeks.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Meanwhile, a preliminary tripartite meeting among the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey is to be held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana on Friday to discuss the situation in Syria, as well as to set the agenda for a summit on Syria by leaders of the three countries in April.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">About 400,000 people are still thought to live in the area, seven years into Syria's civil war. It has been besieged by government forces since 2013.</div>