A bomb blast hit a bus convoy waiting to enter Aleppo on Saturday, killing and wounding dozens of people after an evacuation deal between Syria's warring sides halted and stranded thousands at two transit points on the city outskirts.
Pro-Damascus media outlets said a suicide attacker had detonated a car bomb and killed at least 22 people. Images posted by the outlets showed bodies lying next to charred buses with their windows blown out, and flaming vehicles belching out thick black smoke.
British-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted 24 dead and dozens more wounded.
The blast hit buses in the Rashidin area on Aleppo's outskirts, which had been waiting to cross from rebel-held territory into the government-controlled city itself, carrying people evacuated from two Shi'ite villages on Friday.
The residents, alongside hundreds of pro-government fighters, had left the two rebel-besieged villages in northwest Idlib province under a deal where in exchange, hundreds of Sunni insurgents and their families moved out of a government-besieged area near Damascus.
But a delay in the agreement had left all those evacuated stuck at two transit points on Aleppo's outskirts since late on Friday.
Residents of al-Foua and Kefraya, the Shi'ite villages, were waiting in the Rashidin area.
The rebels and residents of Madaya near Damascus were waiting at the government-held Ramousah bus garage, a few miles away. They were to be transported to Idlib province, which the armed opposition controls.
The agreement is one of several over recent months that has seen President Bashar al-Assad's government take back control of areas long besieged by his forces and their allies.
The Observatory said the delay was caused by the fact that rebels from Zabadani, another town near Damascus included in the deal, had not yet been granted safe passage out.
A pro-opposition activist said insurgents blamed the delay partly on the fact that a smaller number of pro-government fighters had left the Shi'ite villages than was agreed.
Earlier on Saturday, at the transit point where the buses from al-Foua and Kefraya were waiting, one resident said he was not yet sure where he would live.
"After Aleppo I'll see what the rest of the group is doing, if there are any preparations. My house, land and belongings are all in al-Foua," Mehdi Tahhan said.
"WE HAD NO CHOICE"
A Madaya resident, speaking from the bus garage inside Aleppo, said people had been waiting there since late on Friday, and were not being allowed to leave.
"There's no drinking water or food. The bus garage is small so there's not much space to move around," Ahmed, 24, said.
"We're sad and angry about what has happened," he said. Many people felt that they had been forced to leave, he said.
"There was no other choice in the end - we were besieged inside a small area in Madaya."
Syria's opposition says the evacuation deals, which include areas of Aleppo and a district in the city of Homs, amount to forced displacement of Assad's opponents from Syria's main urban centres in the west of the country.
The agreements are also causing demographic changes, they say, because those who are displaced are mostly Sunni Muslims.
Syria's population is mostly Sunni. Assad is from the Alawite religious minority, often considered an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
He has been backed militarily by Russia, and by Shi'ite fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Syria's six-year-old conflict.
Assad has the military advantage over rebels in the west thanks to Russia's intervention in 2015, although the insurgents are still fighting back and have made gains in some areas.
Reuters
Sat Apr 15 2017
A rebel fighter stands near buses carrying people that were evacuated from the two villages of Kefraya and al-Foua, after a stall in an agreement between rebels and Syria's army, at insurgent-held al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria. - REUTERS pic
Polis geledah pejabat pemimpin Parlimen Eropah di Brussels
Pihak berkuasa Jerman melakukan penggeledahan di pejabat seorang ahli Parlimen Eropah di Brussels pada Selasa.
Kereta Safiq Rahim diserang dua lelaki bermotosikal
Selang dua hari selepas pemain Selangor FC Faisal Halim diserang, Safiq Rahim pula ditimpa malang apabila cermin keretanya dipecahkan menggunakan tukul besi.
Balu Navalny gesa rakyat Rusia tidak putus asa
Balu kepada pemimpin pembangkang Rusia Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya menggesa rakyat negara itu supaya tidak berputus asa memerangi rejim selepas pelantikan Vladimir Putin.
Perhimpunan Agung PBB mengundi Jumaat ini
Ia secara berkesan akan bertindak sebagai tinjauan global mengenai berapa banyak sokongan rakyat Palestin terhadap bidaan mereka, yang telah diveto dalam Majlis Keselamatan PBB bulan lalu oleh Amerika Syarikat.
Serangan di Rafah satu kesilapan, malapetaka kemanusiaan - PBB
Setiausaha Agung PBB Antonio Guterres pada Selasa memberi amaran kepada Israel bahawa serangan ke atas Rafah akan menjadi kesilapan strategik, bencana politik dan kemanusian.
Kehadiran Agong ke Parlimen kukuhkan lagi hubungan dua hala
Di bawah pemerintahan Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim selaku Sultan Negeri Johor, hubungan negeri itu dengan Singapura semakin kukuh.
Ia dapat dilihat dari segi ekonomi dan hubungan antara rakyat.
Ia dapat dilihat dari segi ekonomi dan hubungan antara rakyat.
Vladimir Putin angkat sumpah sebagai Presiden bagi penggal kelima
Majlis angkat sumpah itu diadakan di Kremlin dengan diboikot Amerika Syarikat dan beberapa negara barat lain susulan perang antara Rusia-Ukraine.
Cuaca panas undang stres kalangan jemaah wanita
Dalam keadaan cuaca panas melampau dan untuk tempoh yang lama, ia boleh mengundang kepada stres atau tekanan sehingga berupaya menjejaskan kesihatan mental jemaah wanita yang menerima tawaran sebagai tetamu Allah di musim haji.
Mesyuarat JKKTN setuju perkukuh kawal selia BBP
Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Khas Kabinet Tatakelola Nasional (JKKTN) yang bersidang hari ini bersetuju dengan cadangan memperkukuh kawal selia Badan Berkanun Persekutuan (BBP) melalui penggubalan akta.
Usaha bersepadu penting untuk mengekang jenayah
Usaha bersepadu di kalangan agensi-agensi dari pelbagai bidang adalah penting untuk mengekalkan kerangka keselamatan global, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Beliau menyatakan bahawa akses internet dan kemajuan teknologi telah membawa ancaman baru dan mengubah landskap keselamatan, oleh itu perlunya pendekatan yang bersatu padu untuk menangani mereka.
Beliau menyatakan bahawa akses internet dan kemajuan teknologi telah membawa ancaman baru dan mengubah landskap keselamatan, oleh itu perlunya pendekatan yang bersatu padu untuk menangani mereka.
'Selamatkan saya dan adik, saya rela jadi hamba awak' - Mangsa gempa Syria
Ungkapan kanak-kanak itu dapat perhatian warganet bahawasanya kedua-dua mereka mungkin beranggapan runtuhan rumah itu berikutan serangan.
Satu dekad konflik kemanusiaan Syria - Ibrah dan refleksi
Satu dekad berlalu dan konflik kemanusian masih berlanjutan di Syria.
Rawat COVID-19 lebih trauma berbanding mangsa letupan bom Syria - Doktor zon perang
Dr David Nott dari England menyifatkan situasi berdepan krisis pandemik ini lebih getir jika dibandingkan dengan insiden pengeboman seperti di bandar Aleppo, Syria.
34 askar Turki maut, serangan udara di Idlib, Syria
Serangan udara Rusia dan Syria yang menyasarkan kawasan di antara bandar Bara dan Bilion di pedalaman Idlib, mengorbankan 34 askar Turki, dipercayai lebih ramai lagi maut.
Lembaran baharu buat si kecil berkaki 'tin'
Maya Merhi yang berusia lapan tahun, dilahirkan tanpa sepasang kaki terpaksa menggunakan tin untuk membantunya bergerak.
Derita Ghouta lebih buruk dari Aleppo, semua bantuan kemanusiaan disekat - PBB
Setiausaha Agong Majlis Pelarian Norway Jan Egeland berkata peningkatan ketegangan di Syria terutama wilayah Damsyik adalah yang terburuk sejak konflik di negara itu bermula pada 2014.
Tentera pakatan Syria-Rusia burukkan keadaan di Idlib dan Hama - PBB
Ketegangan yang memuncak di beberapa wilayah di Syria kini memaksa lebih 270,000 warga Syria menjadi pelarian di dua wilayah.
Amaran gempur oleh Erdogan boleh jejas inisiatif rundingan damai - SNC
Menurut Nasr Al Hariri, sebagai penaja rundingan damai Syria, Erdogan tidak sepatutnya mengeluarkan kenyataan terhadap kumpulan terbabit yang terlibat secara langsung dalam siri rundingan.
Puluhan maut dalam serangan bom terhadap konvoi bas di Aleppo Syria
Puluhan dilaporkan maut selepas satu letupan bom kereta meledak di tengah-tengah konvoi bas yang sedang memasuki bandar Aleppo di Syria hari ini.
Mapim seru bantuan segera ke Aleppo
Situasi kemanusiaan sangat genting di wilayah tersebut pada masa ini dengan jumlah pelarian meningkat kepada 80,000 orang dan amat memerlukan bantuan makanan serta perubatan.