46-bus civilian convoy arrives at western Aleppo outskirts
by Anadolu Agency
ALEPPODec 20, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Anadolu Agency
Dec 20, 2016 12:00 am
Forty-six buses carrying civilians evacuated from war-battered Aleppo arrived in the city's western countryside yesterday according to local opposition sources, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The sources said evacuees from opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo had arrived to the al-Rashdeen district on the city's western outskirts aboard a 46-bus convoy.
Ten other buses carrying civilians, meanwhile, also set out from the towns of al-Fuah and Kefraya, the same sources added, requesting anonymity due to fears for their safety.
The evacuation process resumed yesterday under an earlier deal brokered by Turkey and Russia in which some 20,000 civilians and fighters are to be evacuated from eastern Aleppo.
Civilian evacuations are also planned from the cities of Madaya and al-Zabadani - involving some 1,500 people - as well as from al-Fuah and Kefraya, which boast a combined population of about 15,000.
Last week, Syrian opposition forces in eastern Aleppo reached a cease-fire deal with the Assad regime to allow civilians to be evacuated from the city.Since the evacuation process began last Thursday, some 14,000 people have departed Aleppo for the nearby province of Idlib near the Turkish border, local sources said.
AA correspondents in Idlib say 10 buses bringing civilians from al-Fuah and Kefraya had safely arrived to Aleppo's western outskirts since the resumption of the evacuation process.
On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed via telephone the ongoing evacuation of civilians from Aleppo, according to a Turkish presidential source.
In recent weeks, numerous reports have emerged of violence being perpetrated against civilians in Aleppo, once considered an opposition stronghold.
The evacuation process was temporarily suspended on Friday after pro-regime foreign terrorist groups attacked a civilian convoy leaving the city, leaving a number of evacuees dead.
Meanwhile, with Russia's backing, the Security Council on Monday voted to quickly deploy UN observers to Aleppo to monitor evacuations and report on the fate of civilians who remain in the besieged Syrian city. The council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution that marks the first show of unity in months among world powers grappling with the crisis in Syria.
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