U.N. envoy says 50,000 still to be evacuated from East Aleppo

PARIS (Reuters) December 15, 2016 – U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday some 50,000 people remained in east Aleppo with about 10,000, including fighters, likely to be evacuated to the rebel-stronghold of Idlib.
“There are about 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians that will go to West Aleppo,” de Mistura said. For those we need to be present to ensure they aren’t ‘disturbed’.”
He said the remaining 10,000 were made up of between 1,500 to 5,000 fighters and their families, who would be evacuated to Idlib.
“Without a political agreement or ceasefire, Idlib will be the next Aleppo,” de Mistura said, speaking at a news conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Paris.