CILVEGÖZÜ (TURKEY) (AFP) – More than 50 injured people have been taken to Turkey since thousands of civilians and opposition rebels left Syria’s second city of Aleppo under an evacuation deal, the Turkish Red Crescent said Friday.
Thousands of civilians and rebels left Aleppo Thursday as part of a deal that will allow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to take full control of the city after years of fighting.
“Since the beginning of the evacuation, over 50 heavily injured have been taken to Turkey,” Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent, told AFP at the Turkish border crossing of Cilvegozu which is opposite Syria’s Bab al-Hawa post.
The injured are “all civilians … from the besieged Aleppo,” he said speaking in English.
Around 50,000 people, mostly civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo despite the evacuation deal, the UN peace envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Thursday.
The evacuation is part of a ceasefire deal negotiated by Russia and Turkey, which fell apart after renewed clashes but revived following fresh talks.
Turkey is seeking to help evacuated people from Aleppo inside Syrian territory while opening its doors to the injured.
Kinik said Turkish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were preparing to house 10,000 tents near the Turkish border in the Aleppo province.
“According to the mayor of Aleppo Municipality, 70,000 people will be evacuated by this operation,” he said.
“Our worst case scenario is 30,000 (to be sheltered) at IDPs (internally displaced people) camps in Idlib,” he added.
“It’s not Turkish camps. We are just supporting Syrian NGOs inside Idlib, so they will manage their IDP camps.”
Kinik said Turkish NGOs would provide shelter, infrastructure, sanitary and hygiene systems as well as regular humanitarian assistance.