The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that "since dawn today the second part of the first phase of the demographic change agreement was continued".
"We add our voice to the condemnation of the attack near Rashideen near western rural Aleppo Governorate that hit a convoy carrying people from the besieged Syrian towns of Kefraya and Foua villages to government-controlled areas, killing dozens of people".
The evacuations are taking place under a deal between government and opposition representatives that is also seeing residents and rebels transported out from several areas under regime siege near Damascus, primarily Madaya and Zabadani.
The deal was brokered late last month by Qatar, a longtime opposition supporter, and Iran, a key regime ally, but its implementation had been repeatedly delayed.
"The area of Zabadani is empty of militants after the last batch of them left this morning", the pro-government Sham FM radio reported, citing a senior official in Zabadani.
When Wednesday's evacuations are complete, a total of 8,000 people should have left Foua and Kefraya, including pro-government fighters as well as civilians.
Some 300 evacuees from rebel-held towns were similarly held up at a staging point at Ramussa in government-held territory.
In exchange, 2,500 civilians and rebel fighters should have left rebel areas including Zabadani and Madaya.
Abbott signals support for bathroom bill from Texas House
A bill scheduled to be heard in a state senate committee would decriminalize pot in the rest of the state. An earlier version needed two tries to get through the House, and passed with just two votes to spare.
Residents of Foua and Kefraya were agreed to be transferred to the outskirts of Aleppo City, the coastal province of Latakia or Damascus, while the gunmen and their families would leave for Idlib City.
Critics say the string of evacuations, which could see some 30,000 people moved across battle lines over the next 60 days, rewards siege tactics and amounts to forced displacement along political and sectarian lines.
State-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that 11 buses "carrying armed men and their families" left Zabadani and the surrounding areas, without specifying the number of people that were evacuated.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which struck buses that were parked at the time.
The Syrian government blamed "terrorists" - a catch-all term for its opponents.
The United Nations says 4.72 million Syrians are in hard-to-reach areas, including 600,000 people under siege, mostly by the Syrian army, but also by rebels or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
The last rebels in the town of Zabadani near Damascus in Syria have either departed for insurgent-held regions or accepted government rule.
More than half of the population have been forced from their homes.





Comments