Syria says ceasefire to allow rebels to leave Aleppo has begun

AMMAN -- The Syrian military said on Thursday a unilateral ceasefire had come into force to allow rebels to leave the besieged eastern part of Aleppo city in a move that the rebels said was part of a psychological campaign to get them to surrender.

State media earlier said the army had completed opening exit corridors in two designated areas in the Bustan al Qasr quarter and near the Castello road in northern Aleppo where waiting green buses were shown on state television.

"We guarantee a safe exit, save your families," an army loudspeaker blared near an exit corridor shown live on the pro-Syrian government Lebanese news channel Mayadeen.