Syria evacuation suspended after buses come under fire

18 December 2016, 9:26 pm

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The evacuations expected Sunday of fighters and civilians from east Aleppo and two Shiite villages under rebel siege in northwestern Syria have been postponed until further notice, a monitor says.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the move was decided after gunmen attacked buses sent to evacuate people from the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya and in the “absence of security guarantees for the evacuees.”

One of the bus drivers was killed in the incident, the Observatory says.

Yasser al-Youssef of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group confirms that “the evacuations have been momentarily suspended.”

The Observatory says buses would not leave the rebel areas of Aleppo until residents of Fuaa and Kafraya were also able to leave.

— AFP