14th convoy departs Eastern Ghouta amid evacuation deal

By Emel Oz Gozellik and Omer Koparan

IDLIB, Syria

The 14th convoy carrying civilians and opposition fighters from Syria’s besieged suburb of Eastern Ghouta arrived in the Al-Bab district of Aleppo on Tuesday.

According to Anadolu Agency correspondents based in the area, the evacuees are ongoing from the towns of Arbin, Zamalka, Ain Tarma and lastly in Duma.

Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, which was launched in September 2016, liberated Al-Bab from Daesh terrorists. The operation, which concluded in March 2017, was meant to clear terrorists from areas of Syria bordering Turkey.

Tuesday’s convoy was made of 22 buses carrying over 1,440 passengers, including injured people, patients, women and children.

At least 50,000 people have been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta since the evacuation process began on March 22.

On Monday, the 13th convoy, carrying over 1,000 passengers, including injured people, patients, women and children, had arrived in the western suburbs of Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

The evacuations are part of a Russian-brokered agreement between Syria’s Assad regime and armed opposition groups.

On Feb. 24, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2401, which called for a cease-fire in Syria -- especially in Eastern Ghouta -- to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Despite the resolution, however, the regime and its allies early in March launched a major ground offensive -- backed by Russian air power -- aimed at capturing opposition-held parts of the district.

Since Feb. 19, more than 1,400 people have been killed in attacks by the regime and its allies in Eastern Ghouta, according to local civil-defense sources.

Home to some 400,000 residents, the district has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years which has prevented the delivery of badly needed humanitarian supplies.

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.