Chronicle Editor
. . . evacuation plan fails
Aleppo. — Shelling and air strikes sent terrified residents running through the streets of Aleppo yesterday as a deal to evacuate rebel districts of the city was in danger of falling apart.The agreement reached on Tuesday was meant to pave way for thousands of civilians and rebel fighters to evacuate Syria’s second city, scene of some of the worst fighting in more than five years of war.
But cold and hungry civilians, who had gathered before dawn to evacuated were instead plunged back into a familiar nightmare.
“Bombing is ongoing, no one can move. Everyone is hiding and terrified,” activist Mohammad al-Khatib told AFP from inside the city.
“The wounded and dead are lying in the street. No one dares to try and retrieve the bodies.”
The evacuation, agreed under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, had been due to begin at 5am but was delayed, with buses parked outside rebel-held areas left waiting.
Following several hours of quiet, fighting then erupted anew in the ravaged city, with Syria’s government, the rebels and their foreign allies trading accusations of blame.
As booms of air strikes and artillery fire rang out, an AFP correspondent in rebel areas saw panicked civilians running in the streets to find shelter, some hiding in the door frames of damaged buildings.
The correspondent saw several wounded civilians, as well as a government tank turning its cannon towards opposition-held districts and opening fire.
State television said rebel rocket fire on government-controlled areas had also resumed, killing at least seven people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later in bid to rescue the deal.
“The situation on the ground is very fragile and complicated,” he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad, said Damascus resumed its assault on Aleppo after rebels violated the ceasefire.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expected rebel resistance in the city to end in the next “two to three days”.
Rebels and a source close to the regime told AFP that the evacuation had been suspended after objections from the Syrian government.
The source said Damascus objected to the number of people leaving, claiming rebels had sought to raise it from 2 000 to 10 000.
But Yasser al-Youssef, a political official from the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, said the regime and its ally Iran were trying to add “new conditions” to the agreement.
“They want to link this deal to other issues, including the areas of Fuaa and Kafraya,” he added, referring to two government-held Shiite-majority villages in northwestern Syria that are under rebel siege.
Turkey too accused the Government and its supporters of blocking the deal.
Before the fighting resumed, crowds of civilians could be seen gathered in the streets of rebel areas from the early hours, some clutching bags of belongings, to await evacuation.
Some had slept in the open, despite the cold and a fierce storm that brought heavy rain and high winds.
Many were hungry, after weeks without regular meals because of dwindling food supplies caused by the army’s siege.
The evacuation deal was announced a month into an army operation that has seen the government take more than 90 percent of the former rebel stronghold in east Aleppo.
Turkey, which has backed the opposition, said those leaving would be taken to Idlib Province, which is controlled by a powerful rebel alliance that includes Al-Qaeda’s former affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. — AFP.
Online Reporter