Tuesday 13 December 2016, the Russian regime, in coordination with the Turkish regime, announced a ceasefire agreement inside the neighborhoods of Aleppo city that are under the control of armed opposition factions. The agreement stated that civilians, wounded, and gunmen will be evacuated via Al Ramousa crossing to Uqdat Al Raqqa area and then to the western suburbs of Aleppo. As a result, about 11400 individuals, including 350 injured persons from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods, were evacuated before the agreement was impeded as the Syrian regime and its Shiite militias breached it. We have documented these breaches in a special Report.
The Iranian regime, through its Shiite militias, successfully obstructed the first agreement which resulted in totally different negotiation process. On Sunday 18 December 2016, armed opposition factions announced that the new agreement with the Russian regime stated that 400 individuals will be evacuated from Al Fou’a and Kafrya towns, which are besieged by armed opposition factions in Idlib governorate, to Aleppo city in exchange for evacuating the rest of residents of Aleppo’s besieged neighborhoods, in addition to 1500 individuals from Madaya and Al Zabadani towns in Damascus suburbs, which is besieged by the Syrian regime and it Shiite militias. This agreement will be achieved in three stages:
The first stage: the evacuation of 1250 individuals from Kafrya and Al Fou’a towns in exchange for the evacuation of a half of the besieged persons in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.
The second stage: the evacuation of 1250 individuals from Kafrya and Al Fou’a towns in exchange for the evacuation of the rest of the besieged persons in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.
The third stage: the evacuation of 1500 individuals from Kafrya and Al Fou’a towns in exchange for the evacuation of 1500 individuals from Madaya an Al Zabadani towns in Damascus suburbs.
On Sunday 18 December 2016, the first stage of the agreement started by the arrival of 15 buses to outskirts of Kafrya and Al Fou’a towns. When the first five buses had arrived to Al Fou’a and Kafrya through Bab Al Hawa road and the security procedures were completed by the members of Al Fateh army (armed opposition factions joint rally, also contains Fateh Al Sham front), about 50 individuals including armed members attacked the buses fleet on Al Kornaish near Al Ram checkpoint near Ma’aret Misreen circle in North Idlib city and indiscriminately opened fire and burned 10 buses while chanting words against the evacuation of civilians. They also accused those who try to evacuate the besieged people of betrayal and dealing with the west and Russia.