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| Syria: ambulances on the move as Aleppo evacuation operation begins | Syria: ambulances on the move as Aleppo evacuation operation begins |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ambulances have brought wounded civilians out of east Aleppo as a long-awaited evacuation of the besieged districts of the city got underway. | |
| “Operation is starting, ambulances are moving,” a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the Guardian. | “Operation is starting, ambulances are moving,” a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the Guardian. |
| The movement came almost five hours after the evacuation was due to begin, when the process appeared stalled while medical teams waited amid reports of gunfire. | The movement came almost five hours after the evacuation was due to begin, when the process appeared stalled while medical teams waited amid reports of gunfire. |
| The first convoy of 10 vehicles was expected to transport 200-250 wounded people in its first rotation with multiple crossings throughout the day. The evacuation is being overseen by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and ICRC, which said it would include the wounded and all civilians. | |
| The UN humanitarian adviser for Syria, Jan Egeland, said the priority was those most in need of immediate care. | |
| “Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans,” he said. “I am really hopeful because it’s long, long overdue.” | “Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans,” he said. “I am really hopeful because it’s long, long overdue.” |
| Rebels later confirmed that the first convoy had reached opposition-held territory to the west of the city. | |
| Separately, Russia’s Tass news agency, citing the Russian defence ministry, said Russia had begun the evacuation of 5,000 Syrian rebels and their family members along a 20km humanitarian corridor. | Separately, Russia’s Tass news agency, citing the Russian defence ministry, said Russia had begun the evacuation of 5,000 Syrian rebels and their family members along a 20km humanitarian corridor. |
| Under the terms of the deal, confirmed by two rebel officials, a ceasefire went into effect at 2.30am local time (12.30am GMT) on Thursday. | Under the terms of the deal, confirmed by two rebel officials, a ceasefire went into effect at 2.30am local time (12.30am GMT) on Thursday. |
| Sources in east Aleppo said shelling in the city had stopped at midnight local time but gunfire was reported on Thursday morning before the ICRC said the evacuation had begun. | Sources in east Aleppo said shelling in the city had stopped at midnight local time but gunfire was reported on Thursday morning before the ICRC said the evacuation had begun. |
| The White Helmets civil defence force, which is based in east Aleppo, said one of its members was injured by a sniper while clearing an evacuation route and its ambulances in the enclave had come under small arms fire. | The White Helmets civil defence force, which is based in east Aleppo, said one of its members was injured by a sniper while clearing an evacuation route and its ambulances in the enclave had come under small arms fire. |
| The evacuation deal was agreed late on Wednesday after a day of intense bombardment and shuttle diplomacy following the unravelling of a previous agreement in the face of Iranian opposition. Tens of thousands of civilians who remained trapped in opposition-held areas of the city without food, water or medicine came under a renewed hail of artillery and airstrikes after its collapse. | The evacuation deal was agreed late on Wednesday after a day of intense bombardment and shuttle diplomacy following the unravelling of a previous agreement in the face of Iranian opposition. Tens of thousands of civilians who remained trapped in opposition-held areas of the city without food, water or medicine came under a renewed hail of artillery and airstrikes after its collapse. |
| A spokesperson for Noureddine al-Zinki, one of the armed opposition groups in Aleppo, said the deal would also allow the evacuation of wounded people in Fua and Kefraya, two Shia villages in Idlib province that are besieged by rebels. | A spokesperson for Noureddine al-Zinki, one of the armed opposition groups in Aleppo, said the deal would also allow the evacuation of wounded people in Fua and Kefraya, two Shia villages in Idlib province that are besieged by rebels. |
| Syrian state media said on Thursday that 29 trucks and ambulances were headed to the villages. | |
| The inclusion of Fua and Kefraya was a concession to Iran, which had opposed the previous ceasefire deal negotiated by Turkish intelligence and the Russian military. | The inclusion of Fua and Kefraya was a concession to Iran, which had opposed the previous ceasefire deal negotiated by Turkish intelligence and the Russian military. |
| Iranian-backed militias spearheaded the ground assault on east Aleppo by forces supporting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and rampaged through newly reclaimed neighbourhoods in what the UN described as a “meltdown of humanity”. | Iranian-backed militias spearheaded the ground assault on east Aleppo by forces supporting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and rampaged through newly reclaimed neighbourhoods in what the UN described as a “meltdown of humanity”. |
| Weeks of immense suffering and violence in eastern Aleppo since the Syrian regime and allies began a final push into territory that had been in rebel hands since 2012 have left residents in total despair and increasingly angry at the international community for abandoning them to their fates. | Weeks of immense suffering and violence in eastern Aleppo since the Syrian regime and allies began a final push into territory that had been in rebel hands since 2012 have left residents in total despair and increasingly angry at the international community for abandoning them to their fates. |