1st LD: Tens of families evacuate rebel-held areas in Aleppo city

Tens of Syrian families evacuated rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, Syria's national TV reported.

The families, who left the rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city, crossed into the government-controlled parts through Salahuddien neighborhood, a crossing between rebel-held areas in the east and government-controlled ones in the west.

The evacuation came as part of a renewed call by the government on the civilians in rebel-held areas to leave and return to the government-controlled areas.

On July 30, a few Syrian families left rebel-held areas as part of the government offer to guarantee them a good life out of the besieged rebel-held areas.

However, the rebels unleashed a wide-scale offensive and briefly broke the government siege on eastern Aleppo, prompting the Syrian government to launch a major offensive.

A day earlier, a source told Xinhua that the Political Intelligence branch in Aleppo offered invitations to the civilians in eastern Aleppo to come to the government areas.

A recently established Russian-U.S. deal brought a ceasefire to hotspots in Syria, including Aleppo.

Aid convoys were also planned to enter rebel-held areas in Aleppo, but the Syrian government blames the delay in delivering the aid on the rebel groups' firing on the main highway to eastern Aleppo. Endit