The Syrian government on Friday opened a new corridor for rebels and civilians who want to leave the besieged eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, but the U.N. said that planned medical evacuations have not begun as planned due to lack of security assurances from warring sides.
The evacuations, part of a Russia—announced pause in fighting, were announced a day earlier by U.N. officials.
U.N’s humanitarian aid agency spokesman, Jens Laerke, described it as an “astronomically difficult situation,” and declined to specify who was responsible for the breakdown in the plans on Friday. Laerke said the evacuations couldn’t begin “because the necessary conditions were not in place to ensure safe” movement of people.
On Thursday, U.N. humanitarian aid official Jan Egeland said the U.N. had received the “green lights” for evacuations from Syria’s govt., armed opposition groups and Russia. — A.P.
