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Aleppo's mass evacuation is a 'political cleansing'

Tens of thousands have had to escape before the inferno fuelled by Russia and the Assad regime consumed them.

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

Wednesday 21 December 2016 15:00, UK

A Syrian girl, who was evacuated from the last rebel-held pockets of Syria's northen city of Aleppo
Image: A Syrian girl, among the last to leave rebel-held pockets of Aleppo
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Evacuation or cleansing? 聽Is the removal of tens of thousands of people from eastern Aleppo grounds for relief or one of the lowest moments in Syria's civil war? 聽

The UN says , the Turkish government puts the figure at over 35,000.

For some that will be enough to move on, a convenient line for the world's media to draw under the Syria story for now.

But there is no denying this has been the political cleansing of tens thousands of people, an event of mass transportation brokered by regional powers, Turkey and Iran, and caused by the direct military intervention of one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

In the 90s in the Balkans, entire areas were emptied or people fleeing the outrages carried out by rival forces. The obscene term "ethnic cleansing" was coined.

Empty buses head to Aleppo to pick up the final civilians to be evacuated
Image: Empty buses head to Aleppo to pick up the final civilians to be evacuated

The cleansing of Aleppo has not been on the grounds of ethnicity, but on the grounds of people's politics or their suspected politics.

And it has certainly happened out of fear of outrages being committed by their own government and outside powers.

More on Aleppo

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They have been terrified for two reasons.

Firstly, Russia's bombardment of eastern Aleppo, in concert with the warplanes of its Syrian allies, has meant the tens of thousands fleeing eastern Aleppo had no choice.  

They have had to escape before the inferno fuelled by Russia and the Assad regime consumed them.

Secondly, because every one of them has had plenty to fear from staying - even when the bombing stopped during the current ceasefire.

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Aleppo's Twitter-using child evacuated

The UN says there is credible evidence innocent men, women and children were taken out of their homes and shot on the spot as regime troops and the thugs of their militia allies moved in.

And everyone in eastern Aleppo has known they would fall under the suspicion of the regime and its allies simply because they have been living among rebel forces during the siege.

For that reason, no one could have been entirely confident of escaping the gulags and torture cells of the Assad regime when Aleppo fell.  

Since the uprising began thousands have been detained and tortured across Syria on the flimsiest of suspicions that they have helped others oppose the regime.   

Not ethnic cleansing but close enough.

  1. A child waves from inside a bus as she is evacuated from rebel-held areas in Aleppo
    Image: A child waves from inside a bus as she is evacuated from rebel-held areas in Aleppo
  2. The evacuation started on the battle-scarred streets of Aleppo
    Image: Rebel fighters and their families are being evacuated under a ceasefire deal
  3. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
    Image: A convoy of ambulances and buses, carrying nearly 1,000 people, left in the first phase
  4. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
    Image: A staff member of the Syrian Red Crescent stands on a bus amid rebels fighters and their families
  5. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
    Image: A wounded boy sits inside an ambulance
  6. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
    Image: The rebel withdrawal will pave the way for President Assad's forces to reclaim complete control of the city. Click through for more
  7. The buses were heading for Idlib, west of Aleppo
    Image: The buses were heading for Idlib, west of Aleppo
  8. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
  9. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
  10. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
  11. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo
  12. People gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo

And there are grounds for grave concern about what happens next.

The evacuated thousands are being transported to Idlib province, dominated by groups with extremist Jihadist connections.

When Russia and Syria turn their air power on them, the world will have more of an excuse to turn a blind eye.  

There are reports some of the fighters are being given safe passage into Turkey to re-enter Syria and join Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish-led offensive taking on Kurds in northern Syria.  

This is a new front that opened up earlier in the year because of Turkey's concerns about Kurds taking over land along its southern border.

The last thing Syrians need is another front in their civil war, and this now reportedly being bolstered because of the fall of Aleppo.

The civilians fleeing the city are also heading into Turkey.

Its increasingly autocratic government has used the threat of unleashing thousands more Syrian migrants on Europe as a means of extracting financial aid from the EU.  

The civilians of Aleppo are being added to the other refugees amassed in southern Turkey, giving its leader more leverage should he need it. 

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