And in the blazing sun they stand desperate to get back to Yarmouk,
to a home that may or may not still exist.
The last Islamic state fighters left over a week ago
but Yarmouk remains under siege - government troops only allow the lucky few back in each day.
Back in to this.
It is a devastation almost beyond comprehension.
Once the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria,
hundreds of thousands moved here dreaming of a return to Palestine.
Now hundreds of thousands who fled the destruction here dream only of a return to home.
Like Rania.
She's a single mum, her children are seven and five, her husband
died of a stroke and she's desperate to find her home.
But the soldiers say the old route back is blocked.
She'll have to go round by a much longer path.
Friends and parents keep calling.
All around the few civilians allowed in here haul, push, drag whatever they can
salvage from the obliteration of their homes, of the lives before.
All this man could find from the rubble of his house: the photo of his son.
Soldiers too doing much the same on a much bigger scale, using trucks shifting anything out here of value.
We weren't allowed to film them but our military escort explained, quote,
"These soldiers are helping the civilians remove things of value".
And Rania? Well things are looking up, she's singing now.
The song's about devotion to Damascus, keeping the spirits up, frankly against all visual evidence.
Just a hundred more yards, go left and she'll be home at last.
Rania points where home used to be.
But she's still got to get there.
For years now the United Nations and Western governments have accused the
Syrian government, and their Iranian and Russian allies, of the indiscriminate
slaughter of civilians here in Yarmouk and across scores of other such regions in Syria,
with cluster bombs, artillery and barrel bombs.
Today though, finally we have the chance to put that allegation face-to-face to the Syrian army here in
the heart of Yarmouk, and ask them why did you do what you did.
When you see that this is what your own army has done, what do you feel?
We were forced into this battle, it wasn't our choice, it was because of the
existence of terrorists among the people and in using them as shields hiding in
popular shopping areas
Syria is accused by the United Nations, and Western governments, of
bombing indiscriminately, which killed civilians.
Barrel bombs, artillery, cluster bombs.
Why use those weapons on civilians?
We don't care about this accusation. We used heavy weapons in the fighting,
but a limited amount. We used to depend on advancing troops, especially infantry.
In addition to some kind of preparation which is normal to prepare the entrance
of our soldiers, for our infantry storming troops.
But there are many who
say all this, the horror the bloodshed merely delivered the people of Yarmouk
from the medieval blood cult of Islamic state to the police state of Bashar
al-Assad.
The West says Bashar al-Assad is a dictator, a butcher, a war criminal.
What do you say?
The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
He is keen to keep the Syrian people safe more than any Western and foreign
country.
It was getting late, our military escort though, now allowed us
to speak to people here out of their hearing.
So who did they blame for this catastrophe?
The militants of course because they came into this area to hide, if they hadn't hidden here the
regime would not have attacked them.
God save Dr. Bashar al-Assad.
And it's true,
the insurgents fought amongst themselves for control of this area.
But you need heavy ground artillery and an air force to do this kind of thing, and that means
the Syrian and Russian government forces.
Dara'a, Al Qaboun, Jobar, Old Homs, East Aleppo.
The ruins of Yarmouk the latest on the list where the explosions have
ceased but victory feels hollow.
And Rania?
A soldier tried to console her, he said you're lucky you have your children,
you have your life.
Well two updates in the continuing war two are bringing up to speed with
tonight first of all in Italy in the north of the country that's a large area
to which the remaining rebel and Islamist insurgent groups have assembled
and that's the last area in the north country which they hold the UN pleading
with the Syrian government to allow more aid into that area in people have now
nearly deteriorating week by week meanwhile down in the south the Syrian
army has said a senior officer quoted as saying that an attack there by
government forces is imminent of course of their Russian and Iranian allies this
the last endlave of rebel and insurgent groups holding those southern
territories along the borders with Israel and Jordan the wider dynamic here
of course that the United States has said in recent days that if bashar
al-assad's forces do move south the United States will stand by and will
you