ALEPPO, Syria: More than 4,000 fighters left fighter-held areas of Aleppo, the Red Cross said Thursday, in the “last stages” of an evacuation, clearing the way for Syrian Army to retake the city.
A week into the fighter withdrawal from the east of Syria’s second city, the evacuation of fighters and civilians from the one-time opposition stronghold appeared to be reaching its final hours.
The loss of east Aleppo marks the biggest defeat for Syria’s uprising in more than five years of civil war and a major victory for Bashar Assad.
The evacuation effort has been hampered in recent days by heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures — leaving evacuees waiting in unheated buses for hours — but aid workers said it had resumed in earnest.
“Overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, in one of the last stages of the evacuation, more than 4,000 fighters were evacuated in private cars, vans, and pick-ups from eastern Aleppo,” said Ingy Sedky, the spokeswoman in Syria for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
She said about 34,000 people had left fighter areas of Aleppo under the evacuation plan, which the ICRC is assisting with.
The heavy snowfall from the day before, which blanketed Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, had stopped but was still slowing down the evacuations.
“The bad weather, including heavy snow and wind, and the poor state of vehicles... mean things are moving much more slowly than expected,” Sedky said.
“The evacuation will continue for the entire day and night and most probably tomorrow (Friday). Thousands are still expected to be evacuated.”
It was unclear who exactly remained to be evacuated or how many were either fighters or civilians.
The United Nations said it had deployed observers to monitor the final evacuations, under a Security Council resolution adopted on Monday.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, said 31 staff had been assigned for monitoring at the crossing point at Ramussa, the government-held district of southern Aleppo through which evacuation convoys have been leaving.
“It’s been a very difficult night. The weather is really harsh, and people are leaving in hundreds of private vehicles at different levels of disrepair,” he told AFP.
Fighters, who seized control of east Aleppo in 2012, agreed to withdraw from the bastion after a month-long army offensive that drove them from more than 90 percent of their former territory.
The agreement was brokered by Russia, which launched airstrikes in support of Assad’s regime last year, and Turkey, which has supported some fighter groups.
An AFP correspondent early on Thursday saw a convoy of about 20 pick-up trucks and cars carrying armed fighters pass through Ramussa. A few hours later another convoy of about 10 buses also left.
An AFP journalist on Thursday also saw buses headed for Aleppo carrying residents who are being evacuated from fighter-besieged villages.
As part of the Aleppo evacuation deal, it was agreed some residents would be allowed to leave Fuaa and Kafraya.
About 1,000 people have been able to leave the villages in recent days.
Sedky said the ICRC would “continue to escort hundreds of civilians” from the villages to Aleppo “throughout the day.”
The evacuation of Aleppo’s fighter sector is a pivotal moment in a war that has killed more than 310,000 people and triggered a major humanitarian and refugee crisis.
Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed this week to guarantee Syria peace talks and backed expanding a cease-fire, laying down their claim as the main powerbrokers in the war.
A week into the fighter withdrawal from the east of Syria’s second city, the evacuation of fighters and civilians from the one-time opposition stronghold appeared to be reaching its final hours.
The loss of east Aleppo marks the biggest defeat for Syria’s uprising in more than five years of civil war and a major victory for Bashar Assad.
The evacuation effort has been hampered in recent days by heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures — leaving evacuees waiting in unheated buses for hours — but aid workers said it had resumed in earnest.
“Overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, in one of the last stages of the evacuation, more than 4,000 fighters were evacuated in private cars, vans, and pick-ups from eastern Aleppo,” said Ingy Sedky, the spokeswoman in Syria for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
She said about 34,000 people had left fighter areas of Aleppo under the evacuation plan, which the ICRC is assisting with.
The heavy snowfall from the day before, which blanketed Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, had stopped but was still slowing down the evacuations.
“The bad weather, including heavy snow and wind, and the poor state of vehicles... mean things are moving much more slowly than expected,” Sedky said.
“The evacuation will continue for the entire day and night and most probably tomorrow (Friday). Thousands are still expected to be evacuated.”
It was unclear who exactly remained to be evacuated or how many were either fighters or civilians.
The United Nations said it had deployed observers to monitor the final evacuations, under a Security Council resolution adopted on Monday.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, said 31 staff had been assigned for monitoring at the crossing point at Ramussa, the government-held district of southern Aleppo through which evacuation convoys have been leaving.
“It’s been a very difficult night. The weather is really harsh, and people are leaving in hundreds of private vehicles at different levels of disrepair,” he told AFP.
Fighters, who seized control of east Aleppo in 2012, agreed to withdraw from the bastion after a month-long army offensive that drove them from more than 90 percent of their former territory.
The agreement was brokered by Russia, which launched airstrikes in support of Assad’s regime last year, and Turkey, which has supported some fighter groups.
An AFP correspondent early on Thursday saw a convoy of about 20 pick-up trucks and cars carrying armed fighters pass through Ramussa. A few hours later another convoy of about 10 buses also left.
An AFP journalist on Thursday also saw buses headed for Aleppo carrying residents who are being evacuated from fighter-besieged villages.
As part of the Aleppo evacuation deal, it was agreed some residents would be allowed to leave Fuaa and Kafraya.
About 1,000 people have been able to leave the villages in recent days.
Sedky said the ICRC would “continue to escort hundreds of civilians” from the villages to Aleppo “throughout the day.”
The evacuation of Aleppo’s fighter sector is a pivotal moment in a war that has killed more than 310,000 people and triggered a major humanitarian and refugee crisis.
Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed this week to guarantee Syria peace talks and backed expanding a cease-fire, laying down their claim as the main powerbrokers in the war.
