Turkish FM denies evacuation from east Aleppo suspended

By Meltem Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish foreign minister on Friday denied reports claiming the evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo had been suspended, saying the process in fact remains underway.

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said so far six tours of the evacuation process that involves several buses had ended.

“The evacuation operations are continuing. As of now, evacuations have not ended. There are a lot of people who want to leave [the area],” Cavusoglu said.

Earlier on Friday, some reports emerged claiming the evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo had been suspended after pro-regime foreign terrorist groups waylaid a civilian convoy shortly after it left Aleppo’s besieged eastern districts for the nearby city of Idlib.

Under the terms of an earlier agreement between the Assad regime and Syrian opposition groups, civilians trapped in eastern Aleppo will be allowed to go to the opposition-held city of Idlib.

Situated near the border with Turkey, Idlib is located some 65 kilometers (roughly 40 miles) from Aleppo.

In recent days, at least 7,500 civilians have left eastern Aleppo for Idlib, according to opposition sources.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.