Aleppo rebel evacuation delayed

The planned evacuation of rebel fighters and civilians from devastated eastern Aleppo has been delayed, BBC reports.

Government buses have been brought in but none have left yet, reports say.

The Syrian government is said to be demanding the simultaneous evacuation of its own injured fighters and civilians from nearby towns that are encircled by opposition forces.

A ceasefire between government troops and the rebels was declared in Aleppo on Tuesday.

Early on Wednesday, two rebel officials told Reuters news agency that the ceasefire was holding, despite the delay.

Eastern Aleppo has been held by the rebels since 2012. But the rebels had been squeezed into ever smaller areas of the city in recent months by a major government offensive, backed by Russian air power.

Under the evacuation deal, brokered by Turkey and Russia, civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo are to be evacuated to rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Evacuations had been due to start at 05:00 (03:00 GMT), reports said, but several hours later the fleet of government buses had not moved.

The UN says it is "not involved" in the evacuation plans but "stands ready to facilitate the voluntary and safe evacuation of injured, sick and vulnerable civilians from the besieged part of the city".

On Tuesday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura called for immediate access to oversee operations.

ews of the evacuation deal came as the UN reported summary killings by pro-government forces.

It said it had reliable evidence that in four areas 82 civilians were killed, adding that many more may have died.

The UN and the US said the Syrian government as well as Russia and Iran - another key ally of Syrian President Assad - were accountable for any atrocities committed in the city. Syria's government and Russia said the allegations were untrue.

On Wednesday, in an interview with Russian media, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the West of double standards.

He said officials and media expressed concern about civilians when the government was advancing in Aleppo, but did not care when Islamist rebels attacked civilians and heritage in Palmyra.

Fighting 'over'

Late on Tuesday, Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told an emergency session of the UN Security Council: "According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over."

He earlier said the deal was reached to allow the rebels to leave.

"The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians," Mr Churkin said.

But the rebels, while confirming the deal, stressed that civilians would also be included in the exodus.

Syria's state media said on Tuesday the rebels would be evacuated through the Ramouseh crossing in the south, and then to rebel-held areas in Idlib province.