Minister Reports Massacre of 30,000 Civilians West of Aleppo

“Some 30,000 civilians who lived in the western countryside of Aleppo have been massacred by these criminal groups,” Muallem said.

He further rejected reports about mass executions in Eastern Aleppo by the army, and said such reports are fabricated to leave a negative impact on the army victory in the highly important city.

“Terrorists’ sponsors and supporters are so worried about their defeat and relocation from Aleppo that they have not slept last night,” the Syrian foreign minister added.

He also strongly lashed out at the former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, for making unreal statements about the death of a number of civilians during their exit from Aleppo recently.

Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin had told the UN Security Council meeting in New York on Tuesday that the fighting in Eastern Aleppo stopped and the Syrian government regained control over the territory after the withdrawal of militants from the city was agreed.

But, terrorists resumed fire Wednesday morning and pushed the deal into complete failure.

Following the attacks, evacuation of the last group of militants from the Eastern part of the Syrian city of Aleppo delayed, if not cancelled at all.

“Everything has been ready for the withdrawal (of militants from Aleppo) since the night fell,” RIA Novosti quoted a sources as saying, adding “It was expected that the withdrawal would start early in the morning, but it has not started yet”.

Another news website reported that Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) is disturbing the exit trend of the militants from Aleppo city.

The Syrian Army troops and popular forces restarted their attacks on Jeish al-Fatah’s positions in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city after the militants breached the truce.

Militants in Aleppo violated the agreement on leaving the city and used the ceasefire to regroup and begin hostilities again, the Russian Peace Coordination Center in Syria said in a statement on Wednesday.

The center added that it had prepared means for evacuation of militants to Idlib, in accordance with the deal reached by the Syrian authorities and the militants.

“When the transport arrived at the previously agreed loading place, the militants began shelling the convoy. Having used the ceasefire, the militants regrouped at dawn and renewed hostilities, trying to break through the positions of the Syrian army in the Northwestern direction,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the army repelled the attack and continued the operation to liberate Eastern Aleppo.

Media reports say the buses that have gone to Aleppo to take militants and civilians out of the city returned to depots.