LIVE: Aleppo evacuations
- Turkish NGO confirms 3,000 evacuated from eastern Aleppo
- Emergency Security Council meeting to negotiate UN observers in Aleppo
- Thousands await evacuation in freezing temperatures
- Civilian and rebels being moved to Idlib and west Aleppo countryside
- Medics in Idlib tell MEE ready to help but heavily under-equipped
Live Updates
A Syrian rebel official said the evacuation of eastern Aleppo was far from finished on Friday in response to a Russian statement that the operation had been completed.
"Only the wounded and some civilians left," Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official with the Aleppo Fastaqim rebel group. "No fighters came out. Nobody came out. All that came out was three convoys."
“There has been a deadlock with regards to the last Aleppo convoy, and talks are currently being conducted to resolve the situation,” said Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a press conference in Ankara on Friday.
“The Syrian government and other forces have obstructed Aleppo evacuation process.”
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed on Friday that talks were being planned in conjunction with Russia to bring together the Syrian opposition and representatives of the Syrian government in Kazakhstan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier he was working closely with Turkey to try and start a new series of Syrian peace talks aimed at securing a nationwide ceasefire.
More to follow....
AFP reporter Maya Gebeily has tweeted that Syrian military sources have said that evacuations out of east Aleppo have been "suspended not finished."
According to local Syrian news outlet Halab Today, military sources have said that rebels will stay in Aleppo and only leave once the arrival of the last civilian is secured to the west Aleppo countryside.
The announcement comes after the Syrian government stopped the evacuations from continuing following claims that rebels were preventing the evacuation of two pro-government villages.
Translation: Military source: The rebels will stay in Aleppo and will only leave after they secure the arrival of the last civilian to the western countryside
Elizabeth Hoff, the World Health Organisation's representative in Syria, speaking from west Aleppo, told a news briefing in Geneva: "I assume the message (to abort the operation) came from the Russians who are monitoring the area." Her team of nine staff in east Aleppo had no contact with Syrian authorities at the Ramouseh transit site.
The evacuation of wounded and civilians from eastern enclaves of Aleppo was aborted on Friday, and aid agencies and vehicles told to leave the area without explanation.
Various local Syrian media outlets are reporting that Iranian militias have abducted approximately 20 private cars that were part of the evacuation and en route to the west Aleppo countryside.
Rebel groups are claiming that Iranian militias have abducted refugees who were being evacuated from east Aleppo.
Middle East Eye cannot independently verify these reports but will keep you updated.
Syrian opposition spokesman claims pro-Assad gunmen fired on and abducted hundreds of people aboard 20-25 vehicles fleeing east Aleppo.
More to follow....
Translation: Revoluton Sources: Iran militias take 20 cars on their way to west #Aleppo countryside as hostage
Translation: #Iran militias stop the convoy and kidnap 800 passengers from E #Aleppo
More than 50 injured people have been taken to Turkey since thousands of civilians and opposition rebels left Aleppo under an evacuation deal, the Turkish Red Crescent said Friday.
"Since the beginning of the evacuation, over 50 heavily injured have been taken to Turkey," Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent, told AFP at the Turkish border crossing of Cilvegozu, opposite Syria's Bab al-Hawa post.
The injured are "all civilians... from the besieged Aleppo", he said speaking in English.
The evacuation of people from eastern Aleppo was suspended on Friday and a Reuters witness heard at least four blasts at a location where buses had been departing.
A state-run Syrian TV station reported that rebels had breached an agreement with the government by trying to take prisoners with them during the evacuation.
A Syrian official overseeing the evacuation told Reuters it had been halted due to "obstructions".
The Syrian government has suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, accusing rebels of breaking terms of the deal.
Government sources said rebels had blocked the evacuation of civilians from two pro-government towns elsewhere in Syria, agreed under the truce.
A report said militias had fired on buses leaving Aleppo.
At least 6,000 people have left the city since Thursday, but the UN says at least 50,000 are still trapped.
More to follow...
(Source: BBC)
A camp to host people evacuated from Aleppo will be set up inside Syria near the border, senior Turkish officials told Reuters on Friday, and Turkey will continue to accept sick and wounded coming from the city.
Two potential sites, around 3.5 km (2.2 miles) inside Syria, have been identified, with the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, officials said, adding that they expected around 30,000 to 35,000 people to come.
Close to 8,000 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo with a sixth convoy currently "en route to safety", a Turkish official said on Friday.
Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter that more than 7,000 civilians had been evacuated in the first five convoys.