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by Rim Haddad with Maya Gebeily in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – A convoy of ambulances and buses left rebel territory in Aleppo on Thursday in the first evacuations under a deal for opposition fighters to leave the city after years of fighting. The rebel withdrawal will pave the way for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces to reclaim complete control of Syria’s second city, handing the regime its biggest victory in more than five […]
PARIS, France (Reuters) — Paris turned off the famed lights of the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday (December 14) as a gesture of solidarity with the citizens of the Syrian city of Aleppo. “This symbolic measure at a building known worldwide will aim to once again alert the international community to the need for urgent action,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a statement. Thousands of people fled the frontlines of fighting in Aleppo on […]
by Rim Haddad and Karam al-Masri Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syrian rebels announced a new evacuation deal for Aleppo civilians and the injured on Wednesday, after shelling and air strikes sent terrified residents running through the city’s streets. However a source close to Syria’s government denied the development, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hostilities were ongoing after an earlier agreement collapsed. Under the initial plan, thousands of civilians and […]
by Andrew Beatty WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The months-long siege of Aleppo is almost over, but the political postmortem is just beginning and Barack Obama’s role is firmly on the slab. “The United States did have countless opportunities to mitigate and prevent slaughter. But time and again, decent men and women chose to look away. We have all been bystanders to genocide. The crucial question is why.” Those were the words, a decade and […]
by Rim Haddad Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syria’s Aleppo Wednesday under a deal that would end years of opposition resistance in the city. The evacuations which were expected to begin at 0300 GMT, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, had yet to commence more than half an hour after the time had passed, an AFP correspondent in the city said. […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The agreement reached on Tuesday for Syrian rebels to withdraw from their one-time bastion of east Aleppo is the latest by opposition forces surrounded by government forces. For much of the conflict in Syria, the government has promoted “local reconciliation” deals that have often involved the evacuation from opposition territory of civilians and rebels who have surrendered. The government says such deals are the best way to end the conflict that […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey confirmed Tuesday that a ceasefire deal was agreed following talks between the Syrian opposition and Russia, which would mean rebels evacuating from war-ravaged eastern Aleppo. The agreement comes as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is close to recapturing all of east Aleppo, which rebels have held since 2012. “We can confirm there is a ceasefire in the city after talks between Russian military and the opposition in eastern Aleppo,” Turkish […]
by Rim Haddad Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo’s Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria’s war. For centuries, Aleppo was Syria’s economic and cultural powerhouse, attracting tourists from around the world to its celebrated heritage sites. But now, only gaunt stray cats roam the rubble-strewn alleyways of its Old City, a UNESCO World […]
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by reports of atrocities against “a large number” of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in the Syrian city of Aleppo, his spokesman said Monday. “While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Ban has asked his envoy Staffan de […]
by Rim Haddad with Layal Abou Rahal in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its “final phase” Monday after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. President Bashar al-Assad’s forces held more than 90 percent of the onetime opposition stronghold of east Aleppo, a monitor and military official said, and appeared on the verge of retaking […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — All children in Syria’s battered Aleppo are suffering from trauma after enduring some of the worst violence in their country’s war, the UN children’s agency said on Sunday. “All children in Aleppo are suffering. All are traumatised,” Radoslaw Rzehak, UNICEF’s field office head in Aleppo, told AFP inside the devastated city. “I have never seen in my life such a dramatic situation (as) what is happening to children in Aleppo,” said […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — All children in Syria’s battered Aleppo are suffering from trauma after enduring some of the worst violence in their country’s war, the UN children’s agency said on Sunday. “All children in Aleppo are suffering. All are traumatized,” Radoslaw Rzehak, UNICEF’s field office head in Aleppo, told AFP inside the devastated city. “I have never seen in my life such a dramatic situation (as) what is happening to children in Aleppo,” said […]
