Women, children and the injured were among those waiting to board buses and evacuate from Aleppo in a retreat that marked the ignominious defeat for rebel forces but also the end of a bloody four-year battle.
There was a tension today as besieged residents waited to see whether they would finally be given passage out after a ceasefire deal broke down yesterday.
Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad could not resist staging one last attack on the enclave this morning.
But concern turned to relief as the first buses left, carrying hundreds of people to the countryside.
Footage taken this morning by an ITV News crew in Aleppo showed that there were some fighters among those waiting to be evacuated.