Blast hits Syrian evacuees, 19 hospitalized in Turkey

By Adham Kako, Levent Tok and Mehmet Kemal Firik

ISTANBUL (AA) - A blast in southern Aleppo on Saturday hit buses ferrying Syrian people evacuated from two besieged regime-held towns, a Turkish aid worker has confirmed.

Tens of people were killed while hundreds were injured in the explosion which hit an evacuation convoy in Aleppo’s Ramuse district, Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) field coordinator Mehmet Suayip Altun told Anadolu Agency.

"The people were transferred to nearby hospitals by ambulances, pickups and all kinds of vehicles. Of course, the [population] exchange has stopped," Altun said.

The exchange agreement, hammered out between the Bashar al-Assad regime and opposition forces on March 30, called for the evacuation of thousands of civilians and fighters from besieged parts of Syria.

While casualty figures for Saturday’s incident have not appeared, Turkish officials in the southern border province of Hatay said 19 injured people had been taken to hospitals in Turkey.

The security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more ambulances were transferred to the Cilvegozu border gate in Hatay's Reyhanli district.