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DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 8,079 rebels and their families have been evacuated from their last strongholds in Syria's northern city of Aleppo over the past 24 hours, state news agency SANA reported Friday.
The evacuation process of rebels and families from the last rebel positions in the eastern part of Aleppo city is ongoing, said SANA.
Nearly 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, were set to evacuate eastern Aleppo as part of a Russian-Turkish deal to end the presence of rebels in the city.
Buses carrying rebels started to leave eastern Aleppo on Thursday.
The move was supervised solely by the International Committee of the Red Cross, without the presence of United Nations staff.
The buses were leaving through the Ramouseh road, the main government way into Aleppo, since the international road had long been closed due to rebel control on some parts of it.
Ambulances carrying the ill and wounded were also seen leaving alongside the buses.
The Russians and Syrians claimed to take the responsibility for securing the rebel convoys out of Aleppo.
According to the deal, the rebels will have to surrender their weapons, except personal ones.
The deal also stipulates that both parties should observe a truce during the evacuation.
In exchange for the evacuation in eastern Aleppo, rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib will allow civilians to leave the besieged Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa.
With the evacuation, the Syrian army will take over the whole Aleppo city, as it has already controlled 99 percent of the rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city. Enditem
