Roundup: Only 7 militants evacuate Aleppo as radical rebels thwart evacuation process

Only seven rebels and a handful of civilians managed to evacuate the eastern part of Aleppo city in northern Syria on Thursday, as the ultra-radical groups largely thwarted a planned evacuation of rebels and civilians from that part of the city, a well-informed source in Aleppo told Xinhua.

The seven rebels, from the Ahrar al-Sham group, managed to reach the Syrian military posts at the Bustan al-Qaser area in Aleppo, handing themselves to the Syrian soldiers, who provided them with medical help they needed after sustaining injuries from the firing of the ultra-radical rebels in eastern Aleppo, the source added.

The fleeing rebels sustained injuries from the mortar shells that slammed near the Bustan al-Qaser crossing.

According to the source, those rebels asked the government soldiers to grant them a safe route to the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.

An evacuation of rebels and civilians from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo was planned on Thursday, upon the demand of Russia and the Syrian government, which prepared buses and shelters for the civilians who want to leave.

It was planned that the rebels who don't want to surrender to the government will be granted two routes out of eastern Aleppo, toward rebel-held areas in the countryside of Aleppo.

As for the rebels who want to surrender to the government in exchange of a presidential pardon, and civilians who want to leave rebel-held areas, the government promised to take care of them and prepared seven routes for the civilians outside eastern Aleppo.

Buses were prepared early on Thursday, in anticipation to those leaving eastern Aleppo, in tandem with the commencement of a three-day truce declared by Russia and the Syrian government to facilitate the evacuation process.

However, the terror-designated Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, has fired mortar shells and sniper shots on the crossings the government identified for the evacuees, disrupting thus the evacuation process.

The Castello road in the northern countryside of Aleppo was designated a route for the rebels to leave, but non have left, according to the source.

"Despite the fact that the Syrian soldiers pulled back on Wednesday to allow the rebels to leave, no rebel has left through that road on Thursday," the source added.

They went on a spree of shelling and shooting to prevent the people from leaving.

The intensified attack also wounded three Russian soldiers who suffered injuries from the shrapnels of the mortar shells on the crossings between eastern and western Aleppo.

Syria's permanent representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari also confirmed that "terrorist organizations" had prevented civilians and gunmen from leaving the eastern Aleppo.

Evacuating the ultra-radical groups from Aleppo, mainly the terror-designated Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, is a main demand of Russia and the Syrian government in order to loosen the military offensive against eastern Aleppo.

The truce and the rebels' evacuation are believed to be the outcome of a recent meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, where Moscow and Washington sought to broker a humanitarian pause and eventual political solution to the crisis.

The Russian air forces and Syrian army recently halted their airstrikes in Aleppo in tandem with declaring a three-day truce, which started on Thursday, in a bid to give a chance for those who will leave.

Even though the Thursday evacuation was largely disrupted, efforts are ongoing to revive the process, the source added.

Aleppo, located near the borders with Turkey, is Syria's largest city and once an economic hub. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels. Endit