BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media says rebels in the country's southwest Quneitra province have started boarding buses to be transported to northwest Syria, after giving up their fight against government forces along the frontier with Israel.

The evacuation, once completed, will put the Syrian government face-to-face with Israel along most of its frontier for the first time since 2011, when an uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule swept through the country.

Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast footage on Friday of fighters dressed in fatigues boarding buses in the village of Um Batina in the province.

The pro-government Central Military Media outlet says there are 50 buses ready to transport rebels to the opposition-held Idlib province in northwest Syria.