*SYRIANS OF EASTERN GHOUTA*

THE UN humanitarian adviser for Syria called on Wednesday for access to the eastern Ghouta town of Douma, where he said some-

80,000 to 150,000  civilians were ''on their knees'' after years  of siege and fighting.

Syrian government forces backed by Russian have recaptured nearly all of eastern Ghouta, which was the last major rebel enclave on the outerskirts of Damascus -

In a ferocious assault that happened in February, marking a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad.

They were now negotiating with armed group inside Douma, the last remaining area under armed opposition control, adviser Jan Egeland told a news conference in Geneva.

''We hope that that agreement will led to people being able to stay if  they choose to, to get amnesty for those who put away their arms but also to an opportunity to leave for those who choose to leave Douma,'' he said.

Out of nearly 400,000 people besieged in eastern Ghouta for years by Syrian government forces,  130,000  had fled in the last three weeks, Egeland said, adding that evacuation should be voluntary.

They included 80,000 people now in collective centres in government-controlled areas, where conditions were terrible, while-

50,000 fled to opposition held - Idlib, which he called ''the biggest cluster of displacement camps in the world'' with around 1.5 million people. {Agencies].