Iran 'holding up' Aleppo evacuation: Ahrar al-Sham

A key rebel group in negotiations over the evacuation of Aleppo says Russia is failing to rein in its Iranian ally, which it accused of holding up the deal.

Munir al-Sayal, the head of the political wing of the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group involved in negotiations over the deal, said Iran was insisting people be allowed to leave two besieged Shia villages before the Aleppo evacuation could begin. 

Green evacuation buses reportedly headed to the rebel-beseiged Shia villages of Fouah and Kefraya on Saturday morning. But families in Aleppo remained waiting in temperatures close to freezing for evacuations from their district - the last remaining rebel-held pocket in the city – to be restarted.

"Iran and its sectarian proxies are using the humanitarian situation of our people in besieged Aleppo and preventing civilians from leaving until the evacuation of their groups in Fouah and Kefraya," Sayal told Reuters.