PHOTO: A boy and his birds await removal from eastern Aleppo city

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UPDATE 1950 GMT: The Iraqi Kurdish outlet Rudaw is warning of an imminent conflict between the Assad regime and Kurdish forces in the mainly-Kurdish district of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo city.

A tweet from Rudaw, citing “Ali Maqsoud, a military expert close to” President Assad, that the regime has told the Kurdish YPG militia to leave the city.

During the pro-Assad attacks on eastern Aleppo city this year, the YPG periodically clashed with rebels in neighboring districts. The militia took over some rebel positions as the pro-Assad offensive advanced this autumn.

UPDATE 1730 GMT: Footage of a convoy, possibly the last one, moving from eastern Aleppo city to western Aleppo Province:

Two buses with passengers from the regime enclaves of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya in Idlib Province, travelling to Aleppo city:

regime-enclaves-buses-22-12-16

A pro-opposition activist says that the east Aleppo removals have finished, and that the al-Fu’ah and Kafraya removals will be synchronized with the movement of about 1,500 wounded and ill from the opposition towns of Madaya and Zabadani in Damascus Province:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Removals of thousands of civilians and rebels continued from opposition areas of Syria’s largest city Aleppo on Wednesday, after a lengthy delay.

Buses resumed operations, with about 20 arriving at the staging area yesterday afternoon. Another convoy also brought people from two regime enclaves in Idlib Province to Aleppo.

For more than 24 hours, convoys had been held us. Some reports blamed the freezing temperatures and snow. However, opposition and rebel officials said Iran and the Assad regime had demanded the completion of the removals from the enclaves of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya before the Aleppo removals resumed.

Up to 5,000 people were stranded in the staging area, trying to resist the cold.

The charity Save the Children said heavy snow was hampering efforts to help injured youth: “Many have had to have limbs amputated because they did not receive care on time, and far too many are weak and malnourished.”

East Aleppo resident Monther Etaky — now transferred out of the area — talks about the past days in the removals, including an attack by Iranian-led militias on a convoy, the seizure of his computers and camera by Russian and Iranian troops, and the waiting for friends to be transferred from the city:

The staff of On the Ground News, who have reported from inside eastern Aleppo for months, have now also made it to western Aleppo Province:

Teacher Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, who also provided first-hand accounts of life amid the destruction, has now also been removed:

16 Turkish Troops Killed as ISIS Repels Turkey-Rebel Offensive Near al-Bab

Turkey’s Defense Minister Fikri Işık had said that 17 Turkish troops were killed and 33 wounded as the Islamic State repelled a Turkish-rebel offensive near al-Bab in Aleppo Province on Wednesday.

The toll is the largest for Turkish forces in a single day since Ankara’s intervention in late August alongside rebels.

The military maintained that 138 ISIS fighters had been killed and 67 targets destroyed by airstrikes. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later said put the number at 200 killed, while the Defense Minister said 1,005 fighters had been “neutralized” since the Turkish intervention in late August.

The Islamic State countered with a video which included the display of their fighters burning two Turkish troops alive.

The “Euphrates Shield” offensive has taken most of the Islamic State’s territory in Aleppo Province, including the corridor along the Turkish-Syrian border. It is now looking to capture al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo city, which is the last major ISIS position in the province.

Wednesday’s attacks initially took a series of positions, including a strategic hill and the National Hospital; however, ISIS regained the territory by the evening.

UN Inquiry: September Aid Convoy Destroyed by Multiple Airstrikes

A UN internal inquiry has confirmed that a September 19 attack on a UN aid convoy came from multiple airstrikes, implicitly blaming Russia and the Assad regime.

The inquiry found that “multiple types of munitions deployed from more than one aircraft and aircraft type” struck the convoy as it was unloading at warehouses west of Aleppo city. The attacks destroyed 19 of 31 trucks and killed at least 20 people. Most of those slain were aid workers, including the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent for ALeppo.

The strikes effectively blocked any attempt to bring in aid amid a Russian-regime siege of eastern Aleppo city, imposed in late August.

Russia put out a series of deceptive propaganda lines to deny responsibility. These included the claim that the US might have carried out the attack, the argument that the convoy was accompanied by “terrorists”, the assertion that rebels must have shelled the trucks, and even that the convoy spontaneously combusted because of its cargo.

The inquiry was careful in its attribution of responsibility. “The board found that, while the incident was caused by an air attack, it was not possible to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators,” it reported to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

However, the board effectively pointed at Moscow and the Assad regime. It noted that only Russian,, regime and US-led coalition aircraft had the capability to carry out such an attack, and that it was “highly unlikely” that the US-led coalition aircraft were involved.