„These patients and civilians had been trapped in the area for days because of heavy clashes nearby and as the front line kept drawing closer,“ said the ICRC‘s Head of Delegation in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is currently in Aleppo. „Many of them cannot move and need special attention and care. It must have been terrifying for them. Our partners from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been trying to reach and evacuate them since Tuesday.“

118 patients were taken to Aleppo‘s Al-Razi, University or Ibn Khaldoun hospitals, while 30 men, women and children, were transferred to shelters in Western Aleppo. Six orphaned and very young children were amongst the evacuees.