Syria conflict: Siege evacuations under way

[Anthea]

Relief agencies backed by the UN have begun to evacuate 500 wounded people from besieged Syrian towns.

Half will come from towns blockaded by pro-government forces, and half from towns blocked off by rebels.

Almost half a million people live under siege in Syria, the UN estimates.

Peace talks that began a week ago in Geneva have hit difficulties and it is not clear whether a partial truce that has lasted seven weeks so far will hold.

Opposition representatives walked out of the talks this week, blaming government violations of the ceasefire.

Activists said government air strikes on Tuesday had killed 40 people in rebel-held areas.

'Urgent need'

The news agency Reuters reports that 250 wounded people are being evacuated from Zabadani and Madaya, near the Lebanese border. Both these towns are blockaded by pro-government forces.

Meanwhile, an agreement has been reached for 250 wounded people to leave Foah and Kefraya in the north-west of the country. Both of these towns are predominantly loyal to the government and are blockaded by rebels.

A UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said the people chosen for evacuation were "in urgent need of life-saving medical attention".

He said: "The sad thing is, we should not have to negotiate medical evacuations."

This is the first major evacuation since December 2015.

Meanwhile, the Syrian regime's chief representative in Geneva, Bashar al-Jaafari, insisted that the talks there would continue.

He told reporters that "no faction" had a "veto power".

Mr Jaafari said: "By leaving, [the opposition representatives] may be taking away a major obstacle and that will allow us to reach a solution."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36095936