Aleppo evacuations resume after delays

Aleppo evacuations resume after delays

Evacuations from the last opposition-held enclave of Aleppo have resumed despite heavy snowfall after being stalled for a day, according to aid officials and pro-regime media reports.

Obstacles hindering evacuations from eastern Aleppo and from two villages besieged by opposition fighters outside the city had been overcome on Wednesday, clearing a path for Syria's regime army to take full control of the devastated city.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) network said in the evening that the last batch of opposition fighters evacuated from the city.

"Buses are now moving again from east Aleppo. We hope that this continues so that people can be safely evacuated," a UN official in Syria told Reuters news agency.

People had been waiting in freezing temperatures in east Aleppo since the evacuation hit problems on Tuesday.

Dozens of buses were stuck in Aleppo and the evacuation of the two Shia villages, Foua and Kefraya, also stalled.

Regime forces had insisted the two villages must be included in the deal to bring people out of east Aleppo.

For four years, the city was split between an opposition-held eastern sector and the regime-held western districts.

During the summer, the regime army and allies forces besieged the opposition sector before using intense bombardment and ground assaults to retake it in recent months.

PHOTO CAPTION

Buses are seen parked in Aleppo's regime controlled area of Ramouseh, as they wait to evacuate civilians and opposition forces from eastern Aleppo, Syria December 15, 2016. REUTERS
Al-Jazeera

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