Last hospital in East Aleppo empty now, all patients evacuated, Intl. Red Cross

Last hospital in East Aleppo empty now, all patients evacuated, Intl. Red Cross

By Rudaw [ltr]yesterday at 10:18 [/ltr]

Syrians walk in a snow covered street in the town of Maaret al-Numan, in Syria's northern province of Idlib, on Wednesday. Rebels and civilians who have sought refuge in the opposition-held province of Idlib, most recently from second city Aleppo, say they are suffering from skyrocketing prices and overpopulation. Photo:AFP

 IDLIB, Syria--The last hospital in the rebel-held Aleppo is empty now as all of its patients, and those in need of urgent medical care have been evacuated to Orem in Western Rural Aleppo, the International Committee of the Red Cross stated on Wednesday which along with its Syrian counterpart are facilitating the evacuation.
 
The full evacuation of rebel-fighters and their families is expected to finish by tomorrow morning provided that the limited evacuation of two Shiite villages of Foua and Kefraya will simultaneously continue, al-Ikhbariyah reported, a pro-regime private TV, citing officials involved in negotiations with Syrian rebel fighters.
 
The weather condition has worsened in Aleppo after heavy snowfall hit the war-torn country, including the rebel-held province of Idlib on the Turkish border where some of the evacuees have sought refuge.
 
Raed al Saleh, the head of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said that their teams are working hard to clear the roads following the heavy snowfall to make it possible for the ambulances and buses to continue with the evacuation. 
 
He also called on people to limit the traffic on the roads. 
 
The evacuation resumed on Wednesday after it was put on hold for more than 24 hours because of disagreements between both sides of the conflict.
 
The Syrian news channel said that the rebel fighters have left driving their vehicles through the Ramouseh crossing in east Aleppo on Wednesday evening while their families were transported by about 21 buses.
 
Some 26,000 rebels and their families have left Aleppo since the evacuation began last week, the UN said.
 
The Syrian regime and the rebels, and their international backers, mainly Russia, Iran, and Turkey, were negotiating the terms of the new agreement for much of Friday and Saturday with the talks mainly focusing on the fate of the two Shiite villages encircled by the armed opposition. 
 
The state-run SANA news agency reported that a new round of buses and ambulances have reached eastern Aleppo carrying the wounded and those who have "humanitarian cases" from the two villages in Idlib province. 
 
 
2,500 people from the two villages will be evacuated in return for the evacuation of the rebel fighters and their families in Aleppo, Idlib governor told Al-Manar over the weekend, a satellite channel for the Lebanese Hezbollah militia fighting in the country in support of the Assad regime.
 
The governor added that another 1,500 people will be evacuated in the second phase from these two villages in return for the evacuation of 1,500 people in Madaya, a rebel-held town close to the capital Damascus.