Army takes control of Aleppo after evacuations end

The Syrian army has retaken full control of the devastated city of Aleppo, it said Dec. 22, after the evacuations of rebels, their families and civilians ended on the same day, thus scoring the Syrian regime its biggest victory against opposition forces since the civil war erupted in 2011.

The announcement came after a landmark evacuation deal that ended a ferocious month-long offensive waged on east Aleppo by government forces and allied militia.

The operation ended a battle that lasted nearly four and a half years, and transformed the city into a worldwide symbol of bloodshed and devastation.

Thousands of inhabitants in the western part of the city - which had remained under the regime's control throughout the conflict - took to the streets, chanting slogans and shouting their jubilation despite extreme cold.

Cars crawled along, their drivers sounding their horns, and in city squares, children had the colors of the Syrian flag painted on their cheeks.

"Our joy is immense. Life returned to Aleppo today," said lawyer Omar Halli, who predicted "victory over all of Syria".

An army statement said the general command "announces the return of security to Aleppo after its release from terrorism and terrorists, and the departure of those who stayed there." 

The army announcement came after state television said the last convoy of four buses carrying rebels and civilians had left east Aleppo and arrived in the government-controlled Ramussa district south of the city.

Ingy Sedky, the spokeswoman in Syria for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said about 34,000 people had left rebel areas of Aleppo under the evacuation plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Dec. 23 that the...