PRESS RELEASE

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ICRC: Jihadis Prevented Medical Evacuations from East Aleppo

Nov. 8, 2016 (EIRNS)—Plans to evacuate civilians from eastern Aleppo for medical care apparently fell through in recent days, and the International Committee of the Red Cross is blaming the jihadis. The original plan was to evacuate 200 patients, with their families.

"During the discussions, the number of 200 went to 10 persons with families—that was the final figure articulated in the discussion, and even this didn’t happen, because we didn’t have enough security guarantees to carry out this medical evacuation,"

Robert Mardini, the ICRC’s regional director for the Middle East, told Sputnik. "So nothing happened."

"Last week, when the medical evacuations were discussed, we didn’t get the security guarantees from the groups inside Eastern Aleppo," Mardini said when asked which side did not provide the guarantees for medical evacuation.

The Russians, meanwhile, have continued the humanitarian pause in air strikes against targets in the jihadi-held parts of eastern Aleppo. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, yesterday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to continue the pause, on condition that the jihadis don’t’ resume offensive operations.