UN begins evacuation of Syria wounded as peace talks fray

Zabadani: The UN began evacuating hundreds of wounded people from besieged Syrian towns today in a rare sign of humanitarian progress amid faltered peace talks and a fraying ceasefire.

In Geneva, the Syrian government said it was pushing on with indirect negotiations, calling the opposition's freeze on its participation "absurd theatre".

The anti-government High Negotiations Committee this week suspended its participation in the UN-brokered talks until it could see progress on political transition and humanitarian issues.

Today, the UN secured the evacuation of dozens of people needing medical attention from four besieged towns as part of a complex humanitarian mission.

"Plans are underway to evacuate some 500 people including the sick, wounded and their family members" from four besieged Towns "in urgent need of life-saving medical attention," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

On the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Madaya, seven large white buses carrying evacuated residents stopped along a route lined by shrubbery.

Dozens of men, women and children got out of the bus and were checked by security officials before boarding once more, an AFP journalist said.

A similar operation had occurred earlier outside nearby Zabadani, where 25 men were transported out of the town, the journalist said.

The simultaneous evacuations were taking place Wednesday from rebel-held Zabadani and Madaya near Damascus, and the government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya in northwest Idlib province.

Madaya shot to infamy in December 2015 when dozens of residents starved to death.

Aid deliveries to the four localities always occur simultaneously and in equal amounts, and a similar stipulation applied on Wednesday for those being evacuated.

More than four million in Syria live in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, with limited or no access to food or medical supplies.

The UN has long pressed Damascus to grant unrestricted access to these areas, and has asked all sides to end besiegement.

Despite fierce criticism, the regime frequently denies passage to aid convoys or limits what kind of assistance can enter.

The dire humanitarian situation has played a major role in the opposition walking away from the troubled peace talks in Geneva.