Syria civil war: UN evacuates four besieged towns

The United Nations has started evacuating hundreds of people from besieged Syrian towns in a rare sign of humanitarian progress that came as tens of thousands of civilians fled fresh fighting.

Safe passage was secured for those in need of medical attention from four towns on Wednesday - a complex mission as a strained ceasefire appeared to buckle further.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said plans were afoot to evacuate about 500 people, including the sick and wounded along with their family members from the four towns.

People were evacuated from the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya near Damascus, and the government-held towns of Foua and Kefraya in northwest Idlib province.

On the outskirts of Madaya, where dozens of residents starved to death last year, seven large white buses were used to take the people out.

Dozens of men, women and children got out of the bus and were checked by security officials before boarding once more, the AFP news agency reported.

Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from the Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border, said a convoy came under fire while carrying out the operation.

"Whether the attacks were directly aimed at the convoy carrying people from Madaya is unclear," he said.

"People from Zabadani and Madaya are mostly civilians, but there are also 25 soldiers being carried to safer areas in the country."

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the UN said at least 40,000 Syrians had fled fighting near Aleppo, a northern city, in recent days as the government pressed an offensive against the opposition despite the truce.

Four million people besieged 

The escalating violence has pushed people eastwards towards the strategically vital town of Azaz, which is on the border with Turkey, as well as the Bab al-Salameh and Sijjou refugee camps, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said.