Tens of Syrian families and armed rebels who surrendered were evacuated from the rebel-held districts in Aleppo city on Saturday as part of the government initiative to resolve the situation there.
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State news agency SANA said civilians later boarded buses and were taken to shelters set up by the government on the western side of Aleppo.
Syrian state television on Saturday showed scores of mostly women gathered in a government-controlled area of the city, saying how conditions in rebel-held areas were hard and chanting praise for Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Philip Luther, director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa program, said the corridors were “not a substitute for allowing impartial humanitarian relief for civilians who remain in opposition-held areas of the city or other besieged areas, many of whom will be skeptical about government promises”.
The move was welcomed cautiously by the United Nations, the U.S. and some aid agencies.
The Nusra Front, one of the most powerful rebel forces in Syria’s five-year, multi-sided civil war, was excluded along with Islamic State from a USA – and Russian-backed ceasefire this year.
The UN called on Russian Federation yesterday to leave the creation of humanitarian corridors in Aleppo to the global organisation.
They were moved into temporary shelters, provided with aid materials and other necessities.
The agency carried photos showing dozens of people, mostly women and children, walking past soldiers and boarding buses.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that civilians were using a corridor in Salahaddin to enter government-controlled districts.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on July 29 that the Russian operation might be a “ruse”, and if it is, that would destroy his ongoing efforts to negotiate a cease-fire and path towards Syrian peace with Russia in his last months in office.
“In Aleppo, getting civilians to leave would both serve its propaganda and its military objectives”, said Emile Hokayem, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Besides, the center for reconciliation has prepared 14 tons of humanitarian cargo by exits from the humanitarian corridors: food, medicine, essentials.
“The UN and humanitarian partners know what to do”.
Some reports have said rebel groups were preventing civilians from leaving.
“Therefore, in accordance to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Defense gave orders to start a large-scale humanitarian operation aimed at providing assistance to the civil population of the Aleppo city in cooperation with the Syrian government”.
The TV says fliers have already been dropped on Thursday on rebel-held besieged parts of Aleppo city, urging people to take the government’s offer of humanitarian corridors.
The army, backed by allied militia forces and air support from Syrian and Russian jets, meanwhile took more ground on the northern edge of the city.
The main opposition High Negotiations Committee says it believes the aim is to cleanse the area so government forces can capture it.
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Aleppo, Syria’s largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has been witnessing violent clashes lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels. The brutal message to our people is – ‘leave or starve, ‘ ” HNC member Bassma Kodmani said.
