Residents from the mostly Shiite Syrian villages of Kafraya and Fuaa, which are besieged by opposition fighters, wait in a bus to get a green light from the rebels to cross into a government controlled area in the province of Aleppo, on December 20, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)
ALEPPO, Syria, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- As many as 60 buses entered the remaining rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday to evacuate the last batch of rebels from the city.
The buses entered through the Ramouseh crossing, south of Aleppo, to evacuate thousands of rebels and their families to rebel-held areas in the southwestern countryside of Aleppo.
The evacuation is part of a deal concluded recently between Russia and Turkey. It included the evacuation of civilians from the Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa, which are besieged by the rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib.
The evacuation of the rebels from Aleppo and the civilians from the Shiite towns is designed to take place simultaneously, which explained the delay in the evacuation process.
Reports said that nearly 15,000 people, including rebels, have evacuated eastern Aleppo since the operation started last Thursday.
The buses that have entered on Tuesday haven't left eastern Aleppo yet, as civilians from Kafraya and Foa should start leaving for the deal to continue.
A day earlier, hundreds of civilians were evacuated from both towns and arrived in Aleppo, in tandem with the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people and rebels from eastern Aleppo.
The evacuation comes as the Syrian military forces and allied fighters have captured 99 percent of eastern Aleppo, as part of a wide-scale offensive to drive out the militants from the city completely.
With the last evacuation of the rebels from eastern Aleppo, the Syrian army will be on control of the entire city, a victory seen as a new chapter of history, as President Bashar al-Assad recently said.
