Rebels In Syria’s War-Torn Aleppo City To Be Evacuated

The vehicles had meant to leave under a deal to evacuate people from rebel areas following rapid advances in Aleppo by government forces.

The planned evacuation saw a convoy of 20 buses and 13 ambulances leave eastern Aleppo at around 3pm (local time) on Thursday afternoon.

The operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from Aleppo began on Thursday, part of a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also took part in the operation.

“People have suffered a lot”.

“When we arrived, the scene was heartbreaking”, Gasser said in a statement.

“When we looked up, we noticed three or four people were killed”.

State television said: “The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo”.

Crowds of regime supporters then protested next to the convoy to demand that Syrian opposition forces lift an ongoing siege of the pro-regime Shiite villages of Fua and Kefraya, both of which are located in Idlib province. The rebels retaliated, at one point shelling the pro-government villages of Foua and Kfraya in Idlib and detonating a vehicle bomb in a frontline area.

“Many people are saying that they are not going out today, but they were eager to leave today to see their wives outside”, Wissam Zarqa, an activist in east Aleppo, said in a recorded message posted in Aleppo media WhatsApp group.

Mardini, asked about evacuation of fighters still in east Aleppo, said: ‘We do not have clear plans.

But the government did not announce any deal.

NPR reports that about 3,000 people have been evacuated so far. He also said he’s tracking reports of men aged 18-40 who “went missing days or even weeks ago” or being “detained or forced to fight” when they’re allowed to exit.

A wounded Syrian woman from the al-Sukari neighborhood is helped onto the back of a truck as she flees during the ongoing government forces military operation to retake remaining rebel-held areas in Aleppo on December 14, 2016.

Russian Federation and the USA have been meeting in Geneva to seek a solution to the fighting and the humanitarian crisis it has caused.

The Russian defence ministry said after evacuations were suspended that only hardline rebels remained.

The Syrian government has for months refused to allow United Nations aid convoys to reach Aleppo as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad pushed ahead with an offensive to crush opposition fighters who held the city’s east since 2012.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called Iranian Presidential Deputy Ishak Cihangiri and told him he was ready to co-operate with Tehran on the evacuation issue.

In New York, the UN Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow worldwide observers in Aleppo and ensure urgent aid deliveries.