Over 2,700 Children Evacuated From Aleppo Within 24 Hours - UNICEF

Almost 3,000 children have been rescued from the Syrian city of Aleppo within the last 24 hours, however, hundreds remain trapped, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation said that the Syrian army's operation to liberate the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo was over, and that the Syrian government troops were eliminating separate hotbeds of militant resistance.

The reconciliation center said earlier in the day that over 6,000 people, including some 3,000 militants, had left eastern Aleppo for the Idlib province in several convoys in the first 24 hours of the evacuation operation, which kicked off on Thursday.

"More than 2,700 children have been evacuated from east Aleppo in the past 24 hours, including some who were sick, wounded or without their parents," Lake stated. "However, hundreds of other vulnerable children, including orphans, remain trapped inside that part of the city."

Lake said that the trapped children are facing dire consequences if not immediately evacuated.

"UNICEF and our partners are on standby with transport and teams to evacuate these children to safety. We implore all parties to the conflict to let us do so safely and immediately," he added.