East Aleppo evacuation deal agreed

An agreement for the imminent evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from east Aleppo in Syria has been reached, a rebel official told AFP on Tuesday.

"An agreement has been reached for the evacuation of the residents of Aleppo, civilians and fighters with their light weapons, from the besieged districts of east Aleppo," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki group.

He said the deal was "sponsored by Russia and Turkey" and would be implemented "within hours".