Page 8 - Aruba Today
P. 8
A8
U.S. NEWSTuesday 29 December 2015
Wounded fighters, civilians evacuated from war-torn Syria
HASSAN AMMAR Convoys carrying wounded Syrian opposition fighters leave the Lebanese border crossing point and generated more than
BASSEM MROUE 4 million refugees.
Associated Press of Masnaa, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Syrian opposition fighters, some on wheelchairs, stretchers or Airport officials said the
MASNAA, Lebanon (AP) — plane will return to Turkey
More than 100 insurgents crutches left the Syrian mountain resort of Zabadani toward the Lebanon border, where they will while another plane takes
and their families crossed the Shiite villagers from
from Syria into Lebanon in be flown to Turkey. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Turkey to Lebanon later
buses and ambulances on on Monday. The officials
Monday as part of a U.N.- held neighborhood in the and ambulances arrived at noon will be used to trans- spoke on condition of ano-
backed truce reached central city of Homs after the Syrian side on the bor- fer the rebels and their nymity because they were
with the government that years of combat. der with Lebanon. families to Turkey, which not authorized to discuss
saw a separate group of “The process is ongoing at He said the next step is to is one of the main allies the operation.
Syrians from two insurgent- a good pace,” Yacoub El bring humanitarian assis- of insurgents battling to The deal has raised con-
besieged Shiite villages Hillo, the U.N. Resident and tance in the coming days overthrow Syrian President cerns about forced demo-
crossed into Turkey. Humanitarian Coordinator to besieged areas that are Bashar Assad. The near- graphic change in Syria,
The fighters and their fami- in Syria, told the Lebanon- included in this agreement. ly five-year conflict has a Sunni-majority country
lies will now be flown to based Al-Mayadeen chan- A Turkish plane that landed claimed over 250,000 lives with Christian and other
Turkey, while the villagers, nel shortly after the buses in Beirut on Monday after- minorities. Assad’s family
who were also evacuated and other top officials hail
on buses and ambulances, from the Alawite minority,
will be transported via Leb- an offshoot of Shiite Islam,
anon to government-held and the government is al-
parts of Syria in a coordi- lied with Shiite-majority Iran
nated process, according and the Lebanese Shiite
to an activist group and movement Hezbollah. The
media reports. Sunni-led opposition has
The truce deal reached accused Assad and his al-
in September, which pro- lies of trying to clear Sunnis
vides for the transfer of out of government-held ar-
thousands of Shiite and eas. The fighters who were
Sunni civilians and fight- evacuated from the Syr-
ers, is one of a number of ian town of Zabadani are
ground-level deals to end Sunni Muslims, while those
fighting in parts of Syria. coming from the northern
Earlier this month, scores villages of Foua and Kfarya
of fighters and their fami- are Shiites.q
lies began leaving a rebel-
Watchdog: Israel planning new
settler homes in strategic area
JOSEF FEDERMAN southern flanks of the West
Associated Press Bank.
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Is- “For these reasons, when-
raeli anti-settlement watch- ever an Israeli leader tries
dog group on Monday said to promote the plans in
the government has quietly E1, the international com-
worked on plans to build munity strongly condemns
more than 8,000 homes in them,” the report said.
a strategic section of the The plans are in the earli-
West Bank near Jerusalem. est stages, and no actual
Peace Now said the homes construction has been ap-
are among more than proved. In 2013, Prime Min-
55,000 housing units at vari- ister Benjamin Netanyahu
ous stages of planning by froze E1 development
Israel’s Housing Ministry. It plans following heavy inter-
said it had obtained the national criticism.
data after a two-year le- The Housing Ministry said
gal battle in response to a the plans were drawn up
freedom of information re- in 2012-13, and last year,
quest. it had paid off outstand-
In a report, the group said ing contracts with design
the 8,372 units are envi- teams. “During 2015 there
sioned for the strategic were no activities whatso-
area known as E1. The Pal- ever on site E1,” it said. “At
estinians strongly object no time did the office pro-
to settlement of the area, ceed with housing plans on
saying it would separate a said site.” The Palestinians
future Palestinian state in claim the West Bank and
the West Bank from east east Jerusalem, captured
Jerusalem, their hoped-for by Israel in the 1967 Middle
capital, and drive a wedge East war, for an indepen-
between the northern and dent state. q