An elderly Syrian man is carried during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from rebel-held neighborhoods on Dec. 15, in the embattled city of Aleppo.

A convoy of ambulances and buses left rebel territory in Aleppo in the first evacuations under a deal for opposition fighters to leave the city after years of fighting. The rebel withdrawal will pave the way for President Bashar al-Assad's forces to reclaim complete control of Syria's second city, handing the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war.

PHOTOS: Aleppo on the Brink: Syrians Flee Besieged City