Evacuations From Four Besieged Towns Resume
Evacuations from four besieged towns resumed on Wednesday after a bomb attack killed 126 evacuees on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Buses carrying 3,000 people left Fou’a and Kafraya, two predominantly Shiite towns besieged by rebels in Idlib province, and a convoy of 11 buses left Zabadani, a rebel-held town besieged by government forces outside Damascus, according to Hezbollah media.
The evacuation agreement allows safe passage for rebels and their families from Madaya and Zabadani in exchange for the safe passage of pro-government fighters from Fou’a and Kafraya.
The bomb attack on Saturday targeted buses carrying evacuees from Fou’a and Kafraya, leaving more than 60 children dead, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitor.
Dozens Killed in Russian, Syrian and U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrikes on Tuesday
Russian, Syrian and U.S.-led coalition air raids killed dozens of civilians across Syria on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.
Nine children were among 10 people killed in suspected Russian airstrikes on rebel-held Idlib province, according to the rescue service Syrian Civil Defence.
At least four people were killed in air raids by Syrian government warplanes in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo province, according to SOHR, and more than 20 people were killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Deir Ezzor province, including six children.
Fifth Convoy of Evacuees From Homs Reaches Jarabulus
In Homs, residents, rebels and their families continued to be evacuated from the last rebel enclave on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
An agreement between government and Russian forces with rebels in al-Waer will see the district’s tens of thousands of residents evacuated to other rebel-held areas in Idlib as well as to areas controlled by Turkey’s operation in Syria, Euphrates Shield, over a period of several weeks.
The fifth convoy from al-Waer reached Jarabulus, a town on the Turkish border controlled by Ankara-backed rebels.
RECOMMENDED READS:
- Reuters: For Syrian Evacuees, Bus Bombing a Tragic End to a Tragic Deal
- NPR: Tech Is Dominating Efforts to Educate Syrian Refugees
- The Guardian: Damascus: Thin Sheen of Normality Coats Menace in Once-Friendly City
- Los Angeles Times: Syria’s Government Helped Create a Rebel Bastion – Then Attacked It With Poison Gas, the U.S. Says
- ARA News: As SDF Forces Push Into Raqqa, Western Volunteers Express Concern About Lack of Aid