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| Snow fell in Aleppo on Wednesday as temperatures remained below freezing |
The final phase of the evacuation of
rebel-held eastern districts of the Syrian city of Aleppo has
restarted, after being stalled for a day.
Activists said 60 buses were stuck in the rebel enclave overnight, forcing 3,000 people to wait in freezing weather with little to eat or drink.
Reasons for the hold-up were not clear. But state media blamed rebels in neighbouring Idlib province, accusing them of preventing the simultaneous evacuation of two pro-government Shia towns there.
After waiting more than a day, the first five buses in the convoy left the rebel enclave and crossed into government-held Ramousseh on Wednesday afternoon.
The official Sana news agency said they were heading to the countryside west of Aleppo under the supervision of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
At the same time, four buses and two ambulances carrying wounded and sick people had been allowed to leave the two towns in Idlib besieged by rebel forces, Foah and Kefraya, it added.
Sana also cited its sources as saying that 21 bus drivers had been freed after being "held by terrorists" while on their way to the towns on Tuesday evening.
There was no immediate comment from rebel officials. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that monitors the civil war, did report earlier that 21 buses had been unable to enter Foah and Kefraya.