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| Deal reached to evacuate rebels and civilians from Aleppo | Deal reached to evacuate rebels and civilians from Aleppo |
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| An agreement has been reached to evacuate civilians and opposition fighters from the besieged eastern districts of the city of Aleppo, a senior Turkish official and rebel officials have told the Guardian. | An agreement has been reached to evacuate civilians and opposition fighters from the besieged eastern districts of the city of Aleppo, a senior Turkish official and rebel officials have told the Guardian. |
| Under the terms of the deal, negotiated between Turkish intelligence and the Russian military, a ceasefire went into effect at 6pm local time. | Under the terms of the deal, negotiated between Turkish intelligence and the Russian military, a ceasefire went into effect at 6pm local time. |
| The senior Turkish official said Turkey and Russia would act as guarantors of the agreement, which would allow “civilians and moderate rebels with light weapons” to leave Aleppo for Idlib province. | The senior Turkish official said Turkey and Russia would act as guarantors of the agreement, which would allow “civilians and moderate rebels with light weapons” to leave Aleppo for Idlib province. |
| “Once they reach Idlib, they will be free to relocate,” the official added. | “Once they reach Idlib, they will be free to relocate,” the official added. |
| Rebel officials from Nour al-din al-Zenki and Ahrar al-Sham confirmed the deal, but there was confusion over where the opposition would have to go. | |
| Russia’s UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said a deal had been reached to evacuate the rebels, but said it did not apply to civilians. | Russia’s UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said a deal had been reached to evacuate the rebels, but said it did not apply to civilians. |
| It was not immediately clear whether the hostilities had ceased in Aleppo. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling was continuing. | It was not immediately clear whether the hostilities had ceased in Aleppo. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling was continuing. |
| Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in a shrinking patch of opposition territory in east Aleppo, weeks into an offensive led by Bashar al-Assad’s military and Iranian-backed militias, and supported by Russian air power, that has brought the regime within reach of a key victory in the war. | Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in a shrinking patch of opposition territory in east Aleppo, weeks into an offensive led by Bashar al-Assad’s military and Iranian-backed militias, and supported by Russian air power, that has brought the regime within reach of a key victory in the war. |
| Jens Laerke, a UN spokesman, said earlier on Tuesday it looked like there had been a “complete meltdown of humanity” in the city amid reports that pro-Assad forces were carrying out extrajudicial killings and that more than 100 unaccompanied and orphaned children were trapped in a building under heavy attack. | |
| “According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo,” Unicef said. “We urge all parties to the conflict to allow the safe and immediate evacuation of all children.” | |
| The UN’s human rights office said there were reliable accounts that pro-Syrian regime forces had been entering homes in the last remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Aleppo and had killed at least 82 civilians on the spot. “The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes,” Rupert Colville, a UN spokesman, said. “There could be many more.” | |
| People in east Aleppo, who have issued distress calls and appeals to the international community to rescue them from retribution, continued to post farewell messages on Tuesday morning, predicting they would either die in the ongoing bombardment or be tortured and killed if they surrendered. | |
| “Please just tell our stories to the world, please let my son be proud of his father,” said one resident of east Aleppo in a text message. | “Please just tell our stories to the world, please let my son be proud of his father,” said one resident of east Aleppo in a text message. |
| A doctor described the situation as “beyond a tragedy”, with corpses in the street and people attempting to flee to government-held areas as a result of hunger and cold. | A doctor described the situation as “beyond a tragedy”, with corpses in the street and people attempting to flee to government-held areas as a result of hunger and cold. |
| “We are besieged from all sides and death is coming from the air,” he said. “Remember that there was once a city called Aleppo that the world erased from the camp and from history. This is a farewell message [from a doctor] whose fate along with that of his companions is death or arrest at any moment.” | “We are besieged from all sides and death is coming from the air,” he said. “Remember that there was once a city called Aleppo that the world erased from the camp and from history. This is a farewell message [from a doctor] whose fate along with that of his companions is death or arrest at any moment.” |