City’s transfer stalls in gunfire

BLAME GAME

BEIRUT • The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside.

The government suspended the evacuation, pulling out buses that had been ferrying out people Friday morning and the day before, after reports of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The foreign minister of Turkey, a backer of the rebels, said he was in talks with his counterpart in Iran, a top ally of the Syrian government, to try to get the process back on track.

The suspension demonstrated the fragility of the ceasefire deal under which civilians and fighters inside the few remaining blocks of the rebel enclave in Aleppo were to be taken to opposition-held territory nearby.

Buses that arrived at a collection point in Hama countryside to pick up people evacuating from the villages waited for hours without any evacuations happening.

There were differing reports on how many people had been evacuated from the enclave and how many remained inside. Estimates from eastern Aleppo ranged from 15,000 to 40,000 civilians still inside the tiny enclave, along with some 6,000 fighters

The Lebanon-based panArab Al-Mayadeen TV aired images Friday of public green buses reportedly returning evacuees to east Aleppo after the road was closed.

But despite the closure, scores of people and patients were apparently evacuated before the evacuation was suspended, according to the World Health Organization.