Dozens of families escape Aleppo through ‘humanitarian corridor’

The United Nations has raised misgivings about these corridors and the Syrian opposition is deeply distrustful, believing them to be a government ploy designed to clear civilians out of Aleppo so that the definitive battle for control of the city can begin.

This screengrab from footage aired by Syrian state TV shows women and children arriving in the government-held part of the Salaheddine neighbourhood of Aleppo on July 30, 2016. Syrian state TV, via AP

MASCUS // Dozens of families escaped Aleppo on Saturday through a “humanitarian corridor” that guaranteed them safe passage from the besieged city.

After a day when the route was mostly empty, Syria’s official Sana news agency reported that “the exit of citizens besieged by terrorist groups in the eastern neighbourhoods” had begun from the section of Aleppo that is held by rebel forces.

Dozens of women and children arrived in a street lined with heavily damaged buildings in the government-held part of Aleppo’s Salaheddine neighbourhood, boarding buses to shelters in western Aleppo.

“We are feeling good now because we are under the protection of the army, may God protect them. We suffered a lot to be able to come here,” a Syrian woman said.

A dozen young men surrendered to forces. All had covered faces and most were carrying automatic rifles over their head.

As they walked out of a building, government soldiers pointed their rifles toward them.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring body based in the UK, confirmed that some people had left east Aleppo through a safe corridor but gave no figures.

The Russian defence ministry said 169 civilians had escaped, and 69 opposition fighters had laid down their weapons. Russia also said four more humanitarian corridors would be opened to add to the three already functioning.

Syrian authorities have prepared aid centres capable of accommodating more than 3,000 people, their ally said.

The United Nations has raised misgivings about the plan and the Syrian opposition is deeply distrustful, believing it is a government ploy designed to clear civilians out of Aleppo so that the definitive battle for control of the city, once Syria’s commercial centre, can begin.

Some have called the evacuation a euphemism for forced displacement of the inhabitants, tantamount to a war crime.

But most residents remain reluctant to venture out in to the safe corridors for fear of arrest by government forces at the other end, with no UN or other neutral presence to oversee their passage.

Opposition activist Baraa Al Halaby, who lives in Aleppo, said: “This is a game by the regime – not a single person left. The regime wants to say that civilians have left so it can burn Aleppo.”

Aleppo has been roughly divided between government and rebels in the east since mid-2012, and the front line runs through several neighbourhoods including Salaheddine.

The rebel-held side of the city has been effectively under government siege since July 7, when regime forces advanced to within firing range of the only remaining supply route to opposition neighbourhoods.

The government completely closed the main road into rebel-held areas of Aleppo on July 17, besieging the 300,000 people living there.

No aid has entered east Aleppo for weeks and international agencies have warned that food stocks will run out in three weeks, leaving the population at risk of starvation.

This week, Syrian president Bashar Al Assad offered an amnesty to rebels who laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities in the next three months.

The first apparent evacuation came a day after UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged Russia to leave the creation of humanitarian corridors around Aleppo to the UN and its partners.

Meanwhile, opposition activists reported air strikes on several towns and villages in Aleppo province, including the village of Ibin where at least six people were killed.

* Associated Press