Aleppo Ceasefire Still in Place, Despite Evacuation Delay
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A ceasefire between government forces and rebels in east Aleppo remains in place despite a delay in plans to evacuate fighters and civilians from rebel-held parts of the city on Wednesday, rebel sources said.
An official with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said the ceasefire was continuing. A rebel commander with the Nour al-Din al-Zinki group also said the deal brokered by Russia and Turkey was still in place.
"The deal still stands, the ceasefire stands until now," the commander said, Reuters reported.
The battle of Aleppo has ended on Tuesday, as rebels and the Syrian government agreed to a ceasefire that would ensure opposition fighters' exit from the city.
After more than four years of clashes and months of siege, the fight for Syria's once largest city came to an end in what UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon called "a total uncompromising military victory" by government forces.
Russia's envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that a deal for rebel fighters to leave their last pocket of territory in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo did not apply to civilians.
The sound of bombardment in Aleppo stopped late on Tuesday for more than an hour after the ceasefire deal was reached, a Reuters reporter said, apparently signalling an end of fighting.
Going into a meeting of the UN Security Council, Vitaly Churkin said, "Now it's going to be under the control of the Syrian government, so there is no need for the remaining civilians to leave and there are humanitarian arrangements in place."