Syrian government forces have been keeping a close watch on the evacuation operation, which should initially see some 5,000 rebel fighters and their families leave, according to Russia.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

ITV News Editor Jonathan Wald has watching the evacuation operation from a government-controlled area next to the rebel enclave.

After the first convoy of buses and ambulances departed, he saw residents celebrating the end of the four-year battle for the city.

The Syria Campaign, which describes itself as a global advocacy group campaigning for a peaceful and democratic future for Syria, has been posting photos of messages left by opposition supporters on walls in eastern Aleppo before evacuation.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has congratulated Syrians on the "liberation" of Aleppo. 

In a video posted on government social media accounts, he says: “What is happening today is history in the making.”

The Washington Post , externalhas published a strongly-worded editorial on the crisis.  

"The fall of Aleppo means the elimination of any prospect in the foreseeable future for the end of Syria’s war or the waves of refugees," its editorial board wrote.

It says that President Assad's government represents only the minority Alawite sect, and is "unlikely ever to reestablish control over all of Syria, even with Russian and Iranian help". 

It said his government now has "no incentive" to pursue peace with either the Sunnis or the Kurdish factions.

"The likely result is years more of war and a steady stream of recruits for Sunni terrorist movements that target the West as well as Damascus".

Photographers from the AFP agency have been capturing some of the scenes from the morning's evacuation process.

Karam Almasri's striking images of some ordinary people at the heart of the crisis have been widely shared on social media. 

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

A Russian official said the Syrian Army has almost finished its military operations in Aleppo.

Lt Gen Viktor Poznikhir said troops were "completing the operation to liberate eastern districts... from terrorists", which is how Russia refers to the rebel forces.

He said that the Syrian army had killed more than 900 rebel fighters and destroyed dozens of pieces of military equipment.  

The army operation is separate to the evacuation process, which is expected to take a number of days to finish.  

French President Francois Hollande has strongly criticised Russia's role in the siege of Aleppo, accusing it of reneging on its commitment to help trapped civilians.

"Russia is making commitments that it is not keeping. There's a moment where you have to answer with action," he said.

Separately, French presidential candidate Francois Fillon has described the fall of Aleppo as representing the failure of Western and European foreign policy.

He said there were only two options: either a military intervention which no-one wanted and only the US could launch - or a concerted diplomatic effort to bring all parties to the negotiating table "even those today committing crimes." 

Save the Children said injured and orphaned children must be a priority in the evacuation process.

The group said children had been injured by cluster bombs in the recent exchanges of fire, quoting an aid worker at a partner NGO.

"They are receiving children injured with the cluster shrapnel. The hospital can do nothing. They are totally paralysed under these circumstances," the worker said.

The charity called for the "immediate transfer" of injured and orphaned children to safe areas.

BBC producer Riam Dalati confirms that ambulances and buses transporting civilian evacuees have arrived at a "handover point".

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said the convoys would "go along a special route" from the Salahuddin district of Aleppo to Rashidin 4, where passengers would "change onto another form of transport for a further journey to Idlib".

The Rashidin 4 area is in rebel-held territory on the western outskirts of Aleppo, near the town of Khan al-Asal.

Image source, AFP

The AFP news agency is also citing a senior Syrian military source as saying that 951 people left in the first convoy. 

Among them were 200 rebel fighters and 108 wounded, who also included rebels, the source added. 

The Reuters news agency quotes a Syrian "official source" as saying that 951 people left eastern Aleppo in the first convoy 

The convoy included women, children and the wounded, the source adds. 

Reuters also quotes a World Health Organisation source as saying the evacuation is going smoothly overall, and that identity papers are not being checked as part of the operation.

Image source, AFP

The AFP news agency's Maya Gebeily also has a colleague inside rebel-held Aleppo, who has been describing the scene at the departure point in the Amiriyah district.

Robert Mardini, Middle East regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross, has been speaking to a colleague assisting in the evacuation.

Image source, AFP

The first buses taking part in the evacuation have begun to leave east Aleppo.

Multiple witnesses in area reported around 20 vehicles leaving the departure point and crossing from rebel-held territory shortly before 13:00 GMT.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said 20 buses and another 13 ambulances were part of the convoy.

A number of other ambulances carrying seriously injured people left earlier on Thursday.

Just to recap on the details of the evacuation: 

• The operation began with the evacuation of 200 sick and injured people, overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent
• Russia’s military then said the withdrawal of 5,000 rebel fighters and their families had started, involving 20 buses, 10 ambulances, and about 100 rebel vehicles.
• A 21km-long corridor has been created for the evacuation, 6km of which goes through government-controlled districts of Aleppo and 15km though rebel territory to the west, according to Russia.
• The convoys are believed to be heading first towards the rebel-held towns of Khan Touman and Khan al-Asal, and then onto Idlib province.

For days, people around the world have been watching events unfold in Aleppo and wondering what they can do to help.

Some are protesting, while others are donating to charities working in the region.

From London, Paris, Sarajevo and Qatar, we've collected examples of how people are showing their solidarity with the people of Aleppo.

Image source, Reuters

The Syrian American Medical Society, which supported hospitals in rebel-held Aleppo during the four-year battle for the city, posted, external this message from 47 orphans trapped there on Wednesday night.

"We hope that you will evacuate us from here so we can live in peace like the rest of the world," it quotes them as saying.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), releases a video of a group of orphans, trapped by the shelling in Aleppo.

Image source, SANA via AP

Mr Egeland added that Russia, which backs the Syrian government, had just told the UN's humanitarian taskforce how the evacuation would take place.

"They confirmed that Russians will be monitoring, that this is a swift, unbureaucratic, non-intrusive evacuation, and that no harm will meet those who are evacuated."

Mr Egeland said most of those evacuated from eastern Aleppo would go to rebel-held Idlib province, but others may choose to go to Turkey.

"We all feel strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a black chapter in the history of international relations," he said.

"It took four thousand years to build Aleppo - hundreds of generations - one generation managed to tear it down in four years."

Image source, AFP

UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland has just been briefing reporters in Geneva on the operation.

“It’s a three-pronged evacuation - a medical evacuation of wounded and sick, an evacuation of vulnerable civilians, and it is an evacuation of fighters,” he said.

Mr Egeland stressed that the UN was "not party to the negotiations and that is very important".

"This is a deal made by the parties themselves... I wish we had been taken into the talks earlier so that we could have prepared better."

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are nevertheless monitoring and assisting the operation, along with representatives from the World Health Organisation, he added. 

Experts on protection, humanitarian law and humanitarian principles will also be on hand.