- Title: Syrian families say army helped them escape eastern Aleppo
- Date: 23rd November 2016
- Summary: ALEPPO, SYRIA (NOVEMBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** FAMILIES SEATED TALKING TO OFFICIALS INSIDE GOVERNORATE BUILDING BOY RESTING HEAD ON TABLE CHILDREN WATCHING FAMILIES SEATED, TALKING TO OFFICIALS MEMBERS OF FAMILY STANDING ALEPPO, SYRIA (NOVEMBER 22, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAN SEATED WITH CHILD WOMEN SEATED AT TABLE, COVERING FACES WITH HIJAB (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED SYRIAN MAN SAYING: "We wanted to leave long time ago but they did not allow us. People want to leave but they do not allow them. They made a checkpoint 500 metres away from the crossing point and they prevented people leaving and shot them at Salah al-Din crossing point." VARIOUS OF WOMEN SEATED CHILD SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED SYRIAN WOMAN SAYING: "The situation is bad. Everything is expensive. A kilogram of spinach price is 1,500. Everything is very little. They made us hungry. What can they do more than this?" VARIOUS OF WOMEN SEATED
- Embargoed: 8th December 2016 13:32
- Keywords: Aleppo families rebels eastern Aleppo Syrian army escape
- Location: ALEPPO, SYRIA
- City: ALEPPO, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00159O0PC7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS - VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING
At least six families left eastern Aleppo on Monday and Tuesday (November 21 and 22) after they coordinated with the Syrian army to cover them as they escaped from the rebel-held part of the city.
The families were taken to the Governorate building in western Aleppo where they were received by provincial officials.
A man who left with his family, said people in the eastern parts of Aleppo want to leave but were being prevented by armed rebels.
"They made a checkpoint 500 metres away from the crossing point and they prevented people leaving and shot them at Salah al-Din crossing point," he said.
Reuters could not independently verify the families' stories.
The Syrian army on Tuesday said that rebels in eastern Aleppo were hoarding warehouses full of food and that they should clear land mines from humanitarian corridors, statements that rebels dismissed as propaganda.
The siege and intense bombardment of east Aleppo, aggravated by renewed, frequent air strikes on hospitals in the past week, have left residents even shorter of medicines, food and fuel.
The U.N. has not been able to access the rebel-held sector since early July and, on Friday, said that aid supplies had run out in the area, where all eight hospitals are either out of action or barely functioning.
In a separate statement, the army told rebels to clear mines from crossings into the government-held western sector designated by the Syrian and Russian militaries as humanitarian corridors, and to let civilians who want to leave do so.
The Syrian government has said rebels are stopping residents from leaving. Rebel groups and residents of east Aleppo say people are scared to use the corridors for fear of snipers, bombs or arrest.
About 250,000 people in eastern Aleppo have been under effective siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias and Russian jets, cut off the last road in early July.
A renewed assault began last Tuesday after a weeks-long pause in air strikes and shelling, although battles and air strikes had carried on along the city's front lines and in the surrounding countryside. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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