2 Syrian towns reshaped by siege

AMMAN, Jordan - One morning in July, the residents of Fuah and Kfarya got word that it was time to leave.

"I didn't believe it at first," said Jamal Faour, 33, who works for the Syrian army as a photographer. "We no longer believed anything."

For more than three years, the towns - whose residents support the government - have lived under a siege imposed by rebels in Idlib province fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. Evacuations had been promised before, only to be called off.

But on July 18, a total of 121 buses pulled into Fuah and Kfarya. The 6,900 townsfolk, carrying little more than suitcases, crammed on board.

As the convoy trundled through rebel-held territory, people on the sides of