Twenty-five men were evacuated from a rebel-held stronghold west of the Syrian capital Wednesday, an AFP reporter said, as part of a UN-backed evacuation of 500 people from four besieged towns. 

The AFP reporter said 15 of the men evacuated from Zabadani were anti-government rebels and another 10 were elderly in need of medical attention.

A total of 500 people are to be evacuated from opposition-held Zabadani, nearby Madaya, and two government-held towns in northwest Syria.