Aleppo: Evacuation postponed until Thursday

The evacuation of rebels and civilians from eastern Aleppo, which was supposed to begin early this morning, will most likely be postponed until Thursday, Reuters reports, carried by Patria.

One of the opposition officials blames Iran and the Shiite militia allied with President al-Assad for the postponement.

The Syrian government's demand for the simultaneous evacuation of their wounded soldiers and civilians from nearby towns besieged by rebel forces is also cited as a reason, the BBC writes.

The ceasefire negotiated by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey, has put an end to years of bloody fighting in the city. This marks the Syrian leader's biggest victory in over 5 years of war.

Sources close to the rebel forces claim that the ceasefire will hold despite the change in the evacuation plan.

- What is currently slowing down the agreement is Iran's stubbornness. But the ceasefire agreement is still in effect, a commander from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki group in eastern Aleppo told Reuters.

Preparing to leave, residents of eastern Aleppo spent the night and early morning packing the belongings they intended to take, and burning the rest, expecting incursions into their homes by the Syrian army and Shiite militia once they establish control.

By taking full control of Aleppo, Assad has confirmed the power of his military coalition, supported by Russian aircraft and Shiite militias from across the region.

Rebel forces were supported by the United States, Turkey, and Gulf countries, but not enough to counter the direct military support provided to Assad by Russia and Iran.

Russia's decision to deploy its air force in Syria 18 months ago turned the situation in Assad's favor after rebels gained the upper hand in western Syria.

In addition to Aleppo, he also captured rebel strongholds near Damascus.

However, Assad is far from conquering the entire territory of Syria. Large parts of the country remain in the hands of armed groups such as ISIL, which retook the desert city of Palmyra earlier this week, Reuters reports.

The fall of Aleppo is considered a great victory over terrorists by Russia, just as Assad characterizes all rebel groups, both Islamist and nationalist.

Killed in their homes

At yesterday's UN session, the representative of the United States called the violence in the city, the siege, and the months-long bombing a "modern evil".

On Tuesday, the UN expressed deep concern over reports that Syrian soldiers and their allies, Iraqi fighters, had killed 82 people in eastern Aleppo. The report accuses them of a "massacre".

- The report speaks of people being killed while trying to flee or in their homes. It is possible that the number is higher, said UN spokesman Rupert Colville.

The Syrian army denies allegations of killing, torture, and abduction of the population, while Russia states that the rebels "held over 100,000 people in eastern Aleppo as human shields".

Fear reigns in the streets of Aleppo. Some of the survivors are trying to make their way through the rain and dead bodies to the western side or a few other parts of the city held by rebels. Others are at home waiting for the arrival of the Syrian army.

All of them fear arrest, mobilization, or execution, which only exacerbates the daily terror of bombing.

- It is said that the army has lists of families or fighters; they go around and ask if their son is with the terrorists. Then they either leave them alone, or shoot them and leave them to die, says Abu Malek al-Shamali in one of the rebel strongholds.