The victory is a major turning point in the Syrian civil war, and will likely launch a new phase of irregular warfare.
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Rebel forces, who seized control of east Aleppo in 2012, agreed to withdraw from the bastion after a month-long army offensive that drove them from more than 90 per cent of their former territory. Children have been separated from their parents in the chaos as they run to get food when they get off the buses, the charity said. Eight buses en route to Aleppo from those villages of al-Foua and Kefraya had also been held up since Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
At the same time, Lavrov said at the start of talks with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that “if the organisers of this terror attack were aiming to derail the fight against terrorists in general and today’s meeting in particular, they have not succeeded and they won’t succeed”. Some argue that the humanitarian crisis has risen to such a level that the USA must put its foot down and that despite the blow that fall of Aleppo deals to rebel forces, they won’t simply stop fighting.
“The evacuation will continue for the entire day and night and most probably tomorrow (Friday)”, said ICRC spokeswoman Karista Armstrong.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “the U.N. and other relevant institutions to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring” of the evacuations. Some vehicles struggled to advance in a snow storm and sub-zero temperatures.
Live footage from the Ramousseh crossing showed the nighttime evacuation Thursday.
Russian Federation and Iran are on the opposite side of the Syrian conflict from Turkey.
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.
Turkey has also been providing support to anti-Assad rebels.
De Mistura said that cessation of hostilities across Syria was a “priority” and having “regional players like Turkey, Russia and Iran talk to each other is a good thing”.
Syrian state media say the withdrawal of the militants from Aleppo is at its final stage. Jets could be heard flying overhead.
For Syria’s opposition, Thursday’s events are nothing short of a catastrophe.
At least 24 Turkish soldiers have been killed so far in the operation, called Euphrates Shield.
The evacuation of east Aleppo has been completed, bringing to a close a key chapter in the Syrian rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.
State TV says Assad made the comments during a meeting Thursday with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari.
Simultaneously, the Turkish army announced that Euphrates Shield forces had completely controlled the highway linking al-Bab city, the ISIS midpoint north Syria, to Aleppo.
In a new twist, Turkey is blaming Gulen for the assassination on Monday of the Russian ambassador at an art gallery in Ankara.
He told mourners that Karlov “will enter God’s kingdom and he will receive the Lord’s grace thanks to our prayers and his death as a martyr”.
Quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin, de Mistura said talks expected to be held in Kazakhstan were “not considered a competition, it is complementary and a support to the preparation of the United Nations role (in Syrian peace talks) on 8 Feb”.
After all, the shooter, Mevlut Mert Altintas, was a member of Turkey’s police force. Those still in custody include Altintas’ roommate.
Cavusoglu said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accepted a recommendation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish the joint investigation into the attack.
The monitoring group added that 21 buses were waiting at the rebel-held Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya, also part of the ceasefire deal brokered by Turkey and Russian Federation last week. The mostly Sunni rebels include groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies.For four years, the city was split between a rebel-held eastern sector and the government-held western districts.
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It was unclear who exactly remained to be evacuated or how many were either fighters or civilians.
