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1st LD: Syrian army declares liberation of eastern Aleppo, as last rebels evacuate the city

Xinhua, December 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Syrian army declared on Thursday the liberation of eastern Aleppo city in northern Syria, as the last batch of rebels left the city, making Aleppo city completely under the government control.

The Syrian army declared the restoration of security and stability to all of Aleppo city, following the evacuation of the last rebel convoy from the eastern part of the city on Thursday evening.

"This victory constitutes a strategic turn in the war on terror, and deals a strong blow to the terrorist project and its backers," said the army in a statement.

"The victory constitutes the launching of a new stage in battling terrorism on all Syrian territories," the statement added.

The statement stressed that the victory in Aleppo will motivate the Syrian army to carry out its battles on the terrorists across Syria.

The evacuation of rebels and their families started last Thursday, as part of a Russian Turkish-deal to end the rebel presence in eastern Aleppo following a large-scale offensive. Aleppo has been under the rebel control since 2012. Endit