Syrians return to the Juret al-Shayah district of the central city of Homs on May 10, 2014, after the last Syrian rebels left the city's neighbourhood under an evacuation deal that hands the government a symbolic victory. Rebel forces in the Old City were under government siege for nearly two years before the deal to evacuate, and regime troops shelled the area almost daily throughout. AFP PHOTO / STR / AFP / -
The battle of Aleppo, one of the worst blood-shed civil war, ended on Tuesday as the Syrian rebels agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire.
The Military action has ended in eastern Aleppo, Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN has said.
““According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over,” Churkin said at the emergency session of the UN security council.
“The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places and they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians,” he added.
The expected departure of the rebels will begin from Wednesday morning in what will be a crushing blow of hopes surged during the historic 2011 Arab Spring , The Independent reported.
Rebel officials said the fighting would end on Tuesday night and a source in the pro-Assad military alliance said the evacuation of fighters would begin at around dawn on Wednesday. The booms of the bombardment could no longer be heard in the area, Reuters reported.
The ceasefire was negotiated by Russia and Turkey, without western involvement.
Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and former commercial centre, has been a conflicted ground since the summer of 2012.
The plight of civilians in Aleppo had caused a major global outrage. United Nations voiced concern over the alleged brutal killing of 82 non-combats by Syrian soldiers and its allies on Monday.