4 Aleppo evacuees killed at Hezbollah checkpoint, White Helmets claim

4 Aleppo evacuees killed at Hezbollah checkpoint, White Helmets claim

By Rudaw [ltr]8 hours ago [/ltr]

Syrian rebel fighters and civilians who were evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo arrive in the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the embattled city, on December 16, 2016. Photo: AFP

 
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--The Syrian Civil Defense, volunteer first responders also known as the White Helmets, claimed that a convoy of 800 people, first reported to have been taken hostage by the Syrian regime and its allied militias, have been returned to the besieged areas in eastern Aleppo. They accused the pro-government forces of killing four people in the convoy and injuring another six. 
 
There was no immediate response from Damascus or its allied forces.

Raed Al Saleh, the head of the Syrian Civil Defense, said their teams were part of the convoy, which, he claimed, was also being accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCC) and the Syrian Red Crescent.

The ICRC's  Middle East Director said the evacuation was "put on hold", but did not mention the incident that the White Helmets reported. 
 

Al Saleh said the convoy passed a Russian checkpoint, and was then “surprised” by another checkpoint put in place by Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen.
 
The bus stopped for 15 minutes, he detailed.
 
“Then soldier carriers and tanks advanced towards the convoy, encircled it, fired 23mm cannon fire randomly, and expelled the R C and Crescent,” he said in a tweet. 
 
“The militiamen forced all men to leave the convoy, forced them to take off their clothes and confiscated all their weapons and mobile.” 
 
Pro-regime forces have captured nearly all of Aleppo in their recent offensive. They have reached an agreement with the rebel fighters who will leave eastern Aleppo for Turkey or other areas in Syria controlled by the rebels.
 
The evacuation, which began on Thursday, was halted Friday. Both sides of the conflict have blamed the other for the suspension. 
 
The regime said the evacuation was suspended because the rebels “breached” the terms of the agreement which allowed armed people to carry only their personal weapons, and not heavy weaponry. It also accused the rebels of attacking the Ramouseh crossing in eastern Aleppo, where the evacuation was happening. 
 
The rebel fighters say the suspension happened because Shiite militiamen allied to the Syrian regime closed the route leading out of the city.
 
The Shiite militia, backed by Iran, have called for a simultaneous evacuation of civilians and injured people from the Shiite villages of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province. 
 
The governor of Hama told Syrian state media on Thursday that twenty-nine buses and ambulances were headed towards the Shiite villages to evacuate injured people and a number of families. 
 
A planned evacuation on Wednesday collapsed because Iran insisted that these two villages, controlled by the Syrian regime forces and its allies, should simultaneously be evacuated. 
 
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry stated on Friday that the evacuation was “completed.”
 
“The operation by the Syrian Army aimed at liberating the militant-controlled neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo has been completed. The Syrian government forces continue to eliminate isolated pockets of militant resistance,” the Center for Reconciliation, part of the Russian Army, said in a statement cited by the state-run Russian Today.