Aleppo evacuations get under way
Hundreds moved from rebel area under new ceasefire deal
NEARLY 1 000 people left the battered rebel-controlled parts of east Aleppo yesterday under a fragile evacuation deal, a senior Syrian military source said. The source said 951 people, including 200 fighters and 108 wounded, made up the first convoy evacuated from the war-battered city.
A convoy of ambulances and buses left rebel territory in Aleppo in the first evacuations under a deal for opposition fighters to leave the city after years of fighting.
The rebel withdrawal will pave the way for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces to reclaim complete control of Syria’s second city, handing the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war.
A revived agreement on a ceasefire and the evacuations was announced yesterday, after an initial plan for civilians and fighters to leave rebel-held parts of east Aleppo collapsed the previous day amid renewed clashes.
Evacuees spent several hours gathering at a staging area with assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), before the first vehicles left rebel territory at 2.30pm local time.
The slow-moving convoy of about 24 vehicles snaked out of Al-Amiriyah district in southern Aleppo and crossed into government-held Ramussa.
People were piling on to the buses, with some worried there would not be another chance to evacuate.
Many were in tears and some hesitated to board the buses, afraid they would end up in the hands of regime forces.
The convoy was led by vehicles from the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, followed by ambulances and then green government buses.
The ICRC’s spokeswoman in Syria, Ingy Sedky, said the first convoy included 13 ambulances and 20 buses.
“They have crossed the frontline and are on their way to rural parts of western Aleppo” province, including the opposition-controlled town of Khan al-Aassal, she said.
“Once the convoy arrives safely it will return and collect more people for a second journey and continue like that. We will go for as long as conditions allow.”
Syrian state television reported that at least 4 000 rebels and their families would be evacuated under the plan.
A first evacuation expected to take place on Wednesday fell apart, with artillery exchanges and resumed air strikes rocking the city until the early hours of yesterday.
But the agreement, brokered by Syrian regime ally Moscow and opposition supporter Ankara, was revived following fresh talks.
The defence ministry in Moscow said that Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of the rebels leaving the city. – AFP