Ingy Sedky

Desperate for food and basic medicines, many of the besieged and bombarded Syrian civilians in Damascus' eastern suburbs of Ghouta waited on Monday as a 46-truck convoy organized by the United Nations and key aid agencies began entering the rebel-held enclave.

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.

Over 40,000 people have been evacuated from besieged parts of eastern Aleppo since efforts to allow people to leave began last week, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said Dec. 22, noting that the last batch of civilians was expected to be transported out of the city by the end of the day. 

The evacuation of wounded civilians and rebels from the besieged parts of Aleppo started on Dec. 14, amid diplomatic efforts by Turkey and Russia and concerns over the implementation of a cease-fire that would end years of fighting in the city.