1st LD: 23 buses carrying rebels evacuate Aleppo city

A total of 23 buses carrying rebels and their families on Monday started leaving the northern city of Aleppo after being inspected by Syrian and Russian soldiers at the Ramouseh crossing of the city, according to Xinhua reporters at the site.

The buses started to leave toward the rebel-held area of Rashidien in the southwestern countryside of Aleppo, as part of a deal concluded by Russia and Turkey.

The deal also stipulates the evacuation of civilians from Kafraya and Foa, two Shiite towns besieged by the rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The deal went into force last Thursday, and nearly 8,000 rebels and families evacuated eastern Aleppo.

But it was suspended on Friday, when the rebels didn't allow people from Kafraya and Foa to leave.

On Saturday the evacuation was resumed, after the rebels apparently agreed to allow the civilians to leave.

The deal was supposed to see the evacuation of 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels from eastern Aleppo, and with the given numbers, it's estimated that 9,000 rebels and civilians have so far been evacuated from eastern Aleppo since last Thursday.

The whole evacuation comes as the Syrian army has captured 99 percent of eastern Aleppo over the past three weeks, as part of a major offensive aiming at driving out the rebels from the city.

With the last evacuation of the rebels from eastern Aleppo, the Syrian army will be on control of the entire city, a victory seen as a writing new chapter of history, as President Bashar al-Assad recently said. Endit