Saturday, April 15, 2017

Syrian bus convoy hit by blast, scores reported killed or injured

Scores of people, including children, have been killed in a suicide bombing near Aleppo that struck a bus convoy evacuating people from besieged villages, after a deal between Syria’s warring sides stalled.

Key points:

  • Suicide bomber blew himself up near buses full of evacuated villagers waiting to cross into Aleppo
  • Plan was for people from two Shiite villages to move into Government-controlled Aleppo while Sunnis in Madaya were to be transported to rebel-held Idlib
  • State media puts death toll at 39, including children, while monitoring group says 43, indicating that may rise

Two buses had been waiting to cross from rebel-besieged territory into the Government-controlled city itself, carrying people evacuated from two Shiite villages on Friday.

Under a swap deal brokered by Iran and Qatar, the residents from al-Foua and Kfraya were being moved into Aleppo in exchange for the relocation of hundreds of Sunni insurgents and their families from the Government-besieged area near Damascus.

Source: Syrian bus convoy hit by blast, scores reported killed or injured – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


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