Aleppo evacuations in heavy snow end brutal war chapter

Aleppo evacuations in heavy snow end brutal war chapter

BEIRUT

Hundreds of rebel fighters and civilians, including small children swaddled in thick blankets, were bused out of war-ravaged Aleppo in heavy snow Wednesday as the evacuation of former rebel strongholds entered its final phase.

Scenes of buses slowly driving out of Aleppo in a shroud of white offered an evocative finale to what has been one of the most brutal chapters in Syria’s civil war.

The departures from Aleppo pave the way for President Bashar Assad to assume full control there, after more than four years of fighting over Syria’s largest city. It marks the most significant victory for Assad since an uprising against his family’s four-decade rule swept the country in 2011.

The evacuations were set in motion last week after Syria’s opposition agreed to surrender its last footholds in eastern Aleppo. Since then, about 25,000 fighters and civilians have been bused out, according to the United Nations.

Turkey links Russian envoy’s killer to cleric

ANKARA, Turkey

Turkey’s president on Wednesday implicated a U.S.-based Muslim cleric in the killing of Russia’s envoy to Turkey, saying the policeman who carried out the attack was a member of his “terror organization.”

Ambassador Andrei Karlov was killed Monday evening by a gunman in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in Ankara. The assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas of Ankara’s riot police squad, was killed in a police operation.

Turkey has accused Fethullah Gulen – a former ally who has turned into Erdogan’s top foe – of trying to destabilize Turkey and says his movement is behind a failed military coup in July aimed at toppling the Turkish leader. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup.

6.4M signed up so far for ‘Obamacare’

WASHINGTON

“Obamacare” seems to be holding its own. The administration said Wednesday that 6.4 million people have enrolled for subsidized private coverage through HealthCare.gov, ahead of last year’s pace.

Despite rising premiums, dwindling insurers and the Republican vow to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, about 400,000 more people signed up through Monday than for a comparable period in 2015, the Health and Human Services Department said.

Mississippi church member charged in ‘Vote Trump’ arson

JACKSON, Miss.

A Mississippi man with a prior criminal record was arrested Wednesday in the burning of an African-American church that was spray-painted with the words “Vote Trump,” and the church’s bishop said the man is a member of the congregation.

The state fire marshal said investigators do not believe the fire was politically motivated.

Andrew McClinton, 45, of Leland, Miss., is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today in Greenville – the city where Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was burned and vandalized Nov. 1.

McClinton is charged with first-degree arson of a place of worship, said Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

Hopewell Bishop Clarence Green said McClinton, who is African-American, is a member of the church. Green said he didn’t know about the arrest until he was called by The Associated Press.

Associated Press