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MORE THAN 3,000 people left the rebel enclave of Aleppo this morning, raising hope for many others still stranded, as Russia eased its objections to sending UN observers to oversee the evacuations.
A convoy of around 20 buses crossed the front line in the early morning headed for rebel-held territory elsewhere in northern Syria, after around 350 people got out during the night.
They were the first departures since Friday when the government suspended evacuations insisting that people also be allowed to leave two northwestern villages under rebel siege.
A medic said the latest evacuees were in a “terrible state” after their departure was delayed for hours in temperatures well below freezing, compounding their plight from months of siege and bombardment by the army.
The new evacuations from the devastated enclave came as a monitoring group said rebels had finally allowed convoys out of two villages they have besieged since spring last year.
Around 500 people left in a dawn convoy out of Fuaa and Kafraya, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said.
Government demands for evacuations from the two Shiite-majority villages had put the whole process on hold for days, and on Sunday rebels attacked buses sent to bring people out, killing one of the drivers.
Around 350 people in five buses made it out of Aleppo during the night after Russia and Turkey urged the Syrian regime to allow a convoy of buses to pass its final control point, the Observatory said.
It was regime ally Moscow and rebel supporter Ankara that brokered a first evacuation deal last week to end a blistering month-long government assault on the one-time rebel bastion in east Aleppo.
‘Terrible state’
“Five buses carrying the evacuees arrived from besieged parts of east Aleppo,” said Ahmad al-Dbis, who heads a team of doctors and volunteers coordinating evacuations.
“They were in a terrible state,” Dbis told AFP.
“They hadn’t eaten, they had nothing to drink, the children had caught colds, they were not even able to go to the toilet.”
Dbis said he saw families wrapped in several layers of coats getting off the buses.
One young boy was biting into an apple while aid workers distributed packs of bottled water to his family.
Evacuations were suspended on Friday, a day after convoys of people had begun leaving the rebel sector under a deal allowing the regime to take full control of the battleground city.
The main obstacle to a resumption had been the dispute over how many people would be evacuated in parallel from the two Shiite villages.
A rebel representative said that hundreds of people would also be evacuated from Zabadani and Madaya, two rebel towns near the Lebanese border under siege by the army, as part of the deal.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA said the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran would meet in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
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Houses with the number 13 sell for less in many parts of the country. Why? Cos there are so many idiots out there immersed in silly US urban culture
Jason’s gonna getcha!
I remember working in a Hotel in Toronto and the floors went from 12 to 14. The door numbers 112 to 114. I find 13 to be lucky considering I was born on the 13th.
I always find that stupid as the as floor or room 14 or whatever is still the 13th one anyway, it’s like I know a fella who got a handy landline number off eircom because no one would take it as it started with 666
We have a 12, 12a and 14, no number 13 in my estate.
Black cats are good luck here, it’s the US that has the problem.
Western superstitions about 13 are relatively mild… Out in Asia they’ll do and pay ANYTHING to avoid the number 4.
4444444444444….. Haha
Odd but true. When I worked in the Far East my apartment block had no floors 4, 13, 14 nor 24. There were no 4 apartments either they all went by letters per floor!
Ok I’ll be the 13th comment – all rubbish superstition all in the head – hocus pocus.
The only thing that comes from touching wood is a splinter, use your mental capacity for something other than fiction
13 is unlucky because there were 12 disciples and Jesus at the last supper = 13. The last supper was on a Friday so therefore Friday the 13th is thought to be unlucky!! What a load of bull!! Have a great day people!
@Deborah Jesus was a bit tied up on the Friday the last supper was the night before !
You make your own luck
I live in number 13
Because human are idiots. I grew up in a number 13 house. my parents told me that when they went to buy it off the plans in the 1970s, the estate agent asked them did they wish to change the address to 12A. FML never shied away from number 13 as a result – it has its benefits too as you get things that are associated with 13 that others will avoid!
DublinBikes @ 13 stand are most often the last bike taken.
Well would u take a chance?
Hard to take the chance with any dublin bikes given how awful the roads are
I knew a military pilot whose callsign was 13. For him it was lucky.
Sounds like a bad decision to me, she could have 28% of the value of the home in extra cash.
Las Vegas hotels follows feng shui too.
I was born on Friday the 13th and life is grand….. But I will salute a magpie lol
Can you eat magpies lol…
My daughter had the option to buy a house number 13,she deliberately decided not to. It was a good decision.
Sound like a bad decision to me, she could have 28% of the value of the home in cash.
Could have been a very good decision if she was going to buy that house in 2006-2007.
I bought house No 13,two years ago and couldn’t be happier . The same houses on my road are now selling at €45K more!!!! I got such a bargain , a bigger garden than any of the others and I will never be overlooked as its end of terrace !
After the loss of a child , marriage break up , numerous job losses and house moves I don’t worry about No 13 . I’ve had the worst of things happen and it’s nothing to do with number 13.
It’s called life .
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And yet the property charge is still the same for them?
The very first house I bought many moons ago was number 13. Three years later houses 10, 11 and 12 had pyrite and 13 didn’t. The fear of black cats, walking under ladders, 13 etc, what a load of crap.
have your say