Syria suspends Aleppo evacuation
Print Edition
THE Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo yesterday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate.
Russia, which helped to broker the evacuation deal with Turkey, said its operation was now “complete” with all women and children moved from the city.
However, Ankara and a Syrian military source said the evacuation had been suspended and was not yet over.
“The evacuations are not over and many people still want to leave the area,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to return and re-enter rebel territory.
The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and had continued through the night, with thousands of people leaving in buses and ambulances.
But yesterday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the deal.
“The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement,” a security source told reporters.
State television said: “The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has supervised the evacuation, confirmed it was on hold.
The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from two villages under rebel siege.
“The regime and its militias ... stopped the evacuation operation in another attempt to involve Fuaa and Kafraya,” said Yasser al-Youssef of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group.
Fuaa and Kafraya are Shiite-majority villages in Idlib province that have been under rebel siege since 2015.
The government and ally Iran have reportedly sought to add the evacuation of civilians from the villages to the Aleppo deal.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, also said the suspension appeared related to the villages.
It said pro-government fighters were blocking the road out of Aleppo that the evacuation convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of Fuaa and Kafraya residents.
The evacuation of the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo had begun on Thursday.
It had been delayed by a day over government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya.
Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and on Thursday afternoon buses and ambulances began taking evacuees to rebel territory in the west of Aleppo province.
The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended.
Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring medical attention.
The UN Security Council was meeting yesterday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries.
In a video message on Thursday, President Bashar Assad said the “liberation” of Aleppo was “history in the making.”
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