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| ‘A Complete Meltdown of Humanity’: Aleppo Civilians Reported Killed as They Flee | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fighting in the besieged eastern districts of Aleppo stopped on Tuesday, a Russian official said, just hours after the United Nations said it had received credible reports that forces loyal to the Syrian government were gunning down civilians trying to flee and killing residents in their homes. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fighting in the besieged eastern districts of Aleppo stopped on Tuesday, a Russian official said, just hours after the United Nations said it had received credible reports that forces loyal to the Syrian government were gunning down civilians trying to flee and killing residents in their homes. |
| Just before the Russian announcement, a cease-fire agreement appeared to have been reached among Syrian rebels, Russia and Turkey, potentially opening a corridor for residents to safely leave besieged neighborhoods, but the parameters of the deal remained unclear. The journey from eastern Aleppo has been perilous for civilians, some of them older people in wheelchairs who were too frail to leave before as the fighting intensified. | Just before the Russian announcement, a cease-fire agreement appeared to have been reached among Syrian rebels, Russia and Turkey, potentially opening a corridor for residents to safely leave besieged neighborhoods, but the parameters of the deal remained unclear. The journey from eastern Aleppo has been perilous for civilians, some of them older people in wheelchairs who were too frail to leave before as the fighting intensified. |
| The United Nations said it had reports of 82 execution-style killings of civilians. The death toll from recent days is unknown, as humanitarian organizations operating in the rebel enclave that used to keep track of casualties have all but collapsed. The deaths were recorded in four neighborhoods — Bustan al-Qasr, Al Fardous, Al Kallaseh and Al Saleheen — and included at least 11 women and 13 children, some of them shot in the streets as they tried to escape, according to Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. Colville cited reports that the agency had received from reliable contacts inside and outside the city. | |
| “Civilians have paid a brutal price during this conflict, and we are filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo,” Mr. Colville said. He added that there were reports of pro-government forces entering homes and indiscriminately killing women and children. | “Civilians have paid a brutal price during this conflict, and we are filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo,” Mr. Colville said. He added that there were reports of pro-government forces entering homes and indiscriminately killing women and children. |
| At the United Nations on Tuesday afternoon, Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador, said fighters were being allowed to leave rebel-held areas with their families. “Military action has stopped,” he said, “This very difficult chapter related to eastern Aleppo has ended.” | At the United Nations on Tuesday afternoon, Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador, said fighters were being allowed to leave rebel-held areas with their families. “Military action has stopped,” he said, “This very difficult chapter related to eastern Aleppo has ended.” |
| About 37,000 people had fled eastern Aleppo to western areas of the city or to the countryside, said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations office coordinating emergency relief. An estimated 14,700 of them took refuge in collective shelters. He called the events “a complete meltdown of humanity.” | About 37,000 people had fled eastern Aleppo to western areas of the city or to the countryside, said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations office coordinating emergency relief. An estimated 14,700 of them took refuge in collective shelters. He called the events “a complete meltdown of humanity.” |
| “We have thousands of civilians stuck in a small square meter, a few small neighborhoods; I don’t know when the regime will arrive,” said a dentist, identified as Dr. Salem, who had fled the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood to one of the city’s last rebel-held districts. “We are stuck,” he added. | |
| By Monday evening, government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had control over most of the city, including the narrow streets of the medieval old city where rebel territory had until last week nearly encircled an army post atop the historic citadel. Opposition groups were thought to control just one-third of a square mile of the city, Mr. Colville said, citing “deeply disturbing reports” of streets filled with bodies that could not be retrieved by residents because of the intensity of the fighting and fear of being shot on sight. | |
| Pro-government television channels showed images of Bustan al-Qasr eerily empty; its residents appeared to have fled, some going to government-controlled areas and others to the shrinking zones still held by rebels. | Pro-government television channels showed images of Bustan al-Qasr eerily empty; its residents appeared to have fled, some going to government-controlled areas and others to the shrinking zones still held by rebels. |
| “I saw fear — I saw children crying and a women yelling, when a shell fell close to them,” said Malek, an activist who stayed in eastern Aleppo after sending his wife and young child to the countryside. He asked to be identified only by his first name for fear that he would soon find himself in government territory. “I just want to see my wife and my baby, this is the only thing that makes me hopeful,” he said. | “I saw fear — I saw children crying and a women yelling, when a shell fell close to them,” said Malek, an activist who stayed in eastern Aleppo after sending his wife and young child to the countryside. He asked to be identified only by his first name for fear that he would soon find himself in government territory. “I just want to see my wife and my baby, this is the only thing that makes me hopeful,” he said. |
| Officials said that evacuations might begin as early as Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning under the cease-fire agreement. But there was immediate confusion about the details. Rebels, activists and aid workers in eastern Aleppo said they had been informed that civilians and fighters could all leave to rebel-held areas of the country, avoiding government districts, where they fear arrest and other reprisals. | Officials said that evacuations might begin as early as Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning under the cease-fire agreement. But there was immediate confusion about the details. Rebels, activists and aid workers in eastern Aleppo said they had been informed that civilians and fighters could all leave to rebel-held areas of the country, avoiding government districts, where they fear arrest and other reprisals. |