Aleppo evacuation continues despite attack on medical convoy
Aleppo/Beirut — An operation to evacuate thousands of civilians and fighters from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo was under way on Thursday despite an earlier attack on a medical convoy by progovernment forces. As buses and ambulances moved into the besieged enclave, the International Committee of the Red Cross said efforts to evacuate about 200 wounded people, part of a wider ceasefire deal, had begun. Russia, a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said the evacuation of 5,000 Syrian rebels and their family members from eastern Aleppo had started. Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. The evacuation of Aleppo’s last rebel enclave would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Assad. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said ...
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