Spotlight: Hand-up rebels join Syrians in hasty evacuation of sieged Aleppo

A new batch of civilians and rebels evacuated rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, state-run al-Ekhabaria TV said.

Scores more families have evacuated eastern Aleppo districts through Sheikh Saeed passages in the south of Aleppo city, the report said

A number of armed rebels surrendered, as the government has decided to pardon all rebels who surrender within three months.

Rebels waged a wide-scale offensive two days ago to break the siege on eastern Aleppo, but the Syrian army has managed to repel them.

Over 50 rebels and 30 civilians were killed in action, a military source told Xinhua, as rockets rained down on the government-controlled parts of Allepo from the rebels in their attacks.

On Sunday, the al-Fatah Army announced the beginning of a big offensive to disrupt the Syrian army's advance in Aleppo.

Late last week, the Syrian army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in the eastern part of Aleppo.

The offensive came a week after the army severed the last supply route connecting rebel-held rural areas in northern Aleppo with the eastern part of the city.

The Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who choose to surrender with their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities, along with the Russians, opened three safe passages for civilians to leave eastern Aleppo, in addition to a fourth one for the rebels to surrender.

Video clips aired on Syrian TVs showed rebel fighters surrendering to the authorities. Endit