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Aleppo evacuations in limbo: WHO

Xinhua, December 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

A World Health Organisation (WHO) official said Friday that the evacuation of civilians, including the wounded, out of the last rebel-held enclave in east Aleppo had been suspended, with no explanation as to why operations had been put on hold.

Speaking from government-controlled west Aleppo, WHO's Elizabeth Hoff told journalists here that "the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), SARC (Syrian Arab Red Crescent) and WHO were informed to leave the area with ambulances and buses."

"No reason has been explained for this information," she noted.

According to Syria's SANA news agency, over 8,000 civilians and rebels have been evacuated from Syria's northern city of Aleppo since operations kicked off on Dec. 15.

Hoff warned, though, that "there are still a high number of women and infants who need to get out."

As of Friday morning, the WHO official said that 194 patients had been taken to eight different hospitals located in western rural Aleppo and opposition-controlled Idlib.

Hospitals there had been provided with medical equipment and kits so that surgical operations and the treatment of chronic diseases could be carried out.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with western parts under government control and eastern districts held by rebels.

The situation in Aleppo worsened rapidly after a truce accord collapsed in September, with months of heavy fighting driving the city to the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Endit