“50,000 people still trapped in eastern Aleppo”

Paris: Some 50,000 people, the majority civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo even as an evacuation deal was under way, the UN peace envoy for Syria and French foreign minister said today.

“There are 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians unfortunate enough to live in that part of the city. The rest are fighters, numbering between 1,500 and 5,000, and their families,” the UN’s Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Paris, alongside France’s Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Turkey had earlier said 80,000 to 100,000 civilians were likely still trapped in eastern Aleppo.

PTI