Vehicles have entered the last rebel-held corner in Aleppo to resume aborted evacuations, media have said. A fragile deal would see rebels leave Aleppo as regime supporters escape other besieged areas.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/J. al Rifai
Advertisement
Syrian state agency SANA reported on Sunday that efforts were underway to "bring the remaining terrorists and their families out" of Aleppo, using the government's catchall term for rebel fighters. Members of the Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross were supervising the push as evacuation buses entered the rebel enclave, they added.
The deal was reached under the condition that evacuations would be carried out for pro-regime civilians leaving Foua and Kefraya, the two villages besieged by rebels in Idlib province.
However, at least five buses meant to carry out the sick and wounded from the two towns were set on fire. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the al-Qaeda-affiliated Fatah al-Sham Front was responsible for the attack.
A rebel source told the AFP news agency that the evacuation of some 40,000 Aleppo civilians and rebels would be conducted in two phases.
"In a first step, half of the people besieged in Aleppo will leave, in parallel with the evacuation of 1,250 people from Foua," the representative said on condition of anonymity.
"In a second step, 1,250 people from Kefraya will leave in parallel with the evacuation of the remaining people in Aleppo," he added.
In contrast, state TV claimed that the deal would allow only 1,200 civilians to leave Aleppo in return for a similar number of people from the two villages. Only after this step is completed would more rebels and non-combatants be allowed to leave parallel to the evacuation in Idlib, it said.
Syria's crisis in facts and figures
01:41
This browser does not support the video element.
Waiting for rescue
In another complication, militiamen from the group previously known as the Nusra Front were preventing evacuation buses from entering the villages, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The buses were held up for over five hours, they said.
Two evacuation efforts fell through in Aleppo earlier this week.
Thousands of people gathered at an Aleppo square on Sunday hoping for an evacuation after several weeks of regime assault. Temperatures during plunged below freezing point during recent nights.
Aleppo resident Abu Omar said his four children were sick because of the cold.
"There's no more food or drinking water, and the situation is getting worse by the day," he told AFP.
dj/tj (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
The battle for Aleppo
Re-establishing full control over Aleppo has been seen as critical to the fortunes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a multi-sided civil war now in its sixth year.
Image: Reuters
Aleppo before the war
Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafiz al-Assad ruled the country with an iron grip and draconian state of emergency laws. Many experts believed that after Hafiz handed over the reins to his son Bashar, the latter would pave the way for a "Damascus spring" and usher in political and economic reform.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Haidar
2011: Violence breaks out
But instead, Bashar chose to stick to the old by suppressing the opposition with the help of Syria's dreaded security forces. His repressive leadership came under heavy pressure as it tried to stifle growing protests among its population with a brutal crackdown.
Image: dapd
2012: Rebels take parts of Aleppo
In early 2012, rebels took control of the rural areas northwest of Aleppo. Protesters were shot at for the first time in July and rebels started to fight for the city itself. Poorer eastern districts quickly fell to the insurgents.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
2013: Rebel gains
People ran for their lives upon hearing a nearby plane dropping bombs during a protest against President Assad in the al-Katerji Tariq district in Aleppo February 22, 2013. After losing the international highway between Hama and Aleppo, the government fought to keep alternative supply lines south of Aleppo accessible.
Image: Reuters/M. Salman
Umayyad Mosque destroyed
In April 2013, the minaret of Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque, which was built between the 8th and 13th centuries, collapsed after being struck during fighting. After nine months of fighting that devastated many districts in Aleppo, rebels controlled more than half of the city.
Image: Reuters/M. Barakat
Suffering citizens and first barrel bombs
A father mourns the death of his two children. The western, government-held half of Aleppo comes under almost complete siege as rebels briefly cut the alternative route. The first barrel bombs were dropped on Aleppo in December 2013.
Image: Reuters
2014: Rebels and government both consolidate positions
Members of the Civil Defence rescue children in the al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, June 2, 2014. The government's control of the skies starts to show as it increasingly uses jets and helicopters to strike rebels.
Image: Reuters/S. Kitaz
2015: Massive rebel gains and Russian intervention
A general view shows a damaged street with sandbags used as barriers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district, March 6, 2015. A series of rebel advances put the government under pressure in northwest Syria.
Image: Reuters/H. Katan
Putin meets Assad in Moscow
Russian President Putin and Syrian President Assad met in Moscow, October 20, 2015. Soon after, the first Russian air strikes took place. Although Russia announced that its air force was ready to provide support to the Free Syrian Army in its fight against the "Islamic State", Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also stressed that his forces were still backing Assad.
Image: Reuters/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/A. Druzhinin
2016: The siege and bombardment of Aleppo
Syrians reaching out for Russian food aid. The text on the bag, which shows the Syrian and Russian national flags, reads: "Russia is with you". In July, government forces fully encircled eastern Aleppo for the first time. The siege was broken ten days later by a rebel counterattack.
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Evacuation of Aleppo
After months of intense bombardment in which many hospitals were hit, the Russian and Syrian governments urged rebels and civilians to evecuate east Aleppo. On December 13, insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire deal. The evacuation began the next day.
