Rivals agree deal in Aleppo
Evacuation of east neighbourhoods to start again
BEIRUT // Syrian rebel and pro- government forces yesterday said they had agreed on a new deal to move fighters and thousands of civilians out of the last besieged opposition neighbourhoods in Aleppo.
The evacuation of eastern Aleppo was halted abruptly on Friday after each side accused the other of breaking a ceasefire. From Thursday to Friday morning, 10,000 people were able to get out of eastern Aleppo, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
However, the United Nations and Syrian rebels said tens of thousands of civilians were still trapped and in danger.
Like the previous deal, the new agreement includes the evacuation of two Shiite towns under rebel siege in Idlib province – a last-minute demand from Iran- backed pro- government factions earlier this week that delayed the initial withdrawal from Aleppo.
It also includes a rebel demand for evacuations from Madaya and Zabadani, two besieged, rebel-held towns near Syria’s border with Lebanon.
Al Farook Abu Bakr, a representative of hardline rebel group Ahrar Al Sham, said a deal had been reached.
“There will be evacuations from Foua and Kafraya, Madaya and Zabadani, and the residents of Aleppo and the fighters will leave,” he said.
Al Manar television station yesterday reported that convoys were en route to Foua and Kefraya, the two besieged villages in Idlib. But there was no announcement of the agreement from the government, and it was unclear when the evacuation of Aleppo would resume. “It was agreed to resume evacuations from east Aleppo in parallel with the evacuation of medical cases from Kefraya and Foua and some cases from Zabadani and Madaya,” said a Syrian government official who is part of the evacuations negotiating team. Marianne Gasser, the top Red Cross official in Syria, said people were expecting the Red Cross to continue the evacuation. “It’s important that the parties on the ground do their utmost to end this limbo.
“People have suffered a lot. Please come to an agreement and help save thousands of lives,” she said. On Friday, Moscow said the evacuation of rebel neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo had been completed and that no women or children remained there. This was disputed on social media by women and children in Aleppo.
Yesterday, Russia’s defence ministry said the evacuation had separated militants “of the so-called moderate opposition” from the “irreconcilable radicals” .
Although the new deal raised hopes of restarting the evacuation, there was scepticism about whether it would succeed after the collapse of two previous agreements in as many days.
“There is nothing that leads us to be optimistic, but we are trying to work as much as possible to move the civilians who are still inside eastern Aleppo,” said Asaad Hanna, a rebel political officer in Turkey.
The rebels have accused the pro-government militia forces of killing evacuees at a checkpoint on Friday. The Syrian government, meanwhile, said rebels leaving Aleppo on Friday breached the deal by trying to take hostages, heavy weapons and the bodies of government soldiers with them as they abandoned their stronghold.
Rebels were also accused of blocking the evacuation of the two Shiite villages in Idlib province that were part of the agreement. Mr Hanna estimated that it would take three days to get the remaining civilians and fighters out of eastern Aleppo.
But getting a ceasefire to hold for that long will be difficult. Adding more areas to the deal means that it will need the participation and agreement of more armed elements from the myriad rebel and pro-government factions who could raise their own demands. And a wider operation means more movements of convoys and chances of conflict that could derail the entire process.
As the evacuation remained on hold, the international community continued its attempts to pile pressure on Russia and the Syrian government. France has presented a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for international observers to oversee the Aleppo evacuation and humanitarian aid to enter the besieged rebel quarters. The measure, circulated to the council late on Friday, could be put to a vote today despite resistance from Russia, diplomats said.