BEIRUT, Lebanon – A bomb blast hit a bus convoy waiting to cross into government-held Aleppo in Syria today, killing dozens of people evacuated from two Shi’ite villages the day before in a deal between warring sides.
The agreement had stalled, leaving thousands of people from both government- and rebel-besieged areas stranded at two transit points on the city’s outskirts, before the explosion occurred.
Late today buses began crossing into both government- and rebel-held territory from the two transit points as the deal resumed, pro-Damascus media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported.
But the incident underscored the difficulty carrying out any agreement between warring sides in a volatile and complex Syrian conflict which, in its seventh year, shows no signs of easing.
A media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah said the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomb and killed at least 40 people. The Observatory said more than 24 were killed and scores more wounded.
Footage on state TV showed bodies lying next to charred buses with their windows blown out, and vehicles in flames.
The blast hit buses in the Rashidin area on Aleppo’s outskirts. The vehicles had been waiting since Friday to cross from rebel-held territory into the government-controlled city itself. Ambulances later took the wounded to hospital in Aleppo.
It was unclear who carried out Saturday’s bombing attack.
The exact reasons for the delay in completing the evacuation deal were also unclear. (Reuters)
