Syrian Army Troops Tell Civilians to Leave Aleppo, Liberation of City Near
Al-Mayadeen TV, a Beirut-based channel, broadcast on Thursday around an hour after the pause began from near one of the designated safe passages.
Shots were heard and smoke said to be caused by a shell exploding rose into the sky; meanwhile buses were waiting ready for residents to emerge.
The Syrian government military broadcast calls for residents to let the sick and wounded out first, and urging fighters to lay down their guns.
The message: “The battle for returning Aleppo to the nation’s fold is in its last phases. There is no point in continuing the fight.”
Moscow says the three-day pause is to allow civilians and militants safe passage out of the eastern districts of the city – under a tight siege since July and a punishing bombing campaign since mid-September.
