Syrians stuck in and near Aleppo as evacuation deal halts

A rebel fighter stands near buses carrying people that were evacuated from the two villages of Kefraya and al-Foua, after a stall in an agreement between rebels and Syria's army, at insurgent-held al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria April 15, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"We're sad and angry about what has happened," he said. Many people felt that they had been forced to leave, he said.

"There was no other choice in the end - we were besieged inside a small area in Madaya."

Syria's opposition says the evacuation deals, which have included areas of Aleppo and a district in the western city of Homs, amount to forced displacement of Assad's opponents from Syria's main urban centres.

The agreements are also causing demographic changes, they say, because those who are displaced are mostly Sunni Muslims.

Syria's population is mostly Sunni. Assad is from the Alawite religious minority, often considered an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

He has been backed militarily by Russia, and by Shi'ite fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Syria's six-year-old conflict.

Assad holds the military advantage over rebels in the west of the country thanks to Russia's intervention in 2015, although the insurgents continue to fight back and have made gains in some areas.

Reuters