Hundreds of rebel fighters and civilians, including small children, were moved out of war-ravaged Aleppo in heavy snow yesterday as the evacuation of former rebel strongholds entered its final phase. <br/><br/>The departures from Aleppo pave the way for President Bashar Assad to assume full control there, after more than four years of fighting over Syria's largest city. It marks the most significant victory for Assad since an uprising against his family's four-decade rule swept the country in 2011.<br/><br/>The evacuations were set in motion last week after Syria's opposition agreed to surrender its last footholds in eastern Aleppo. Since then, about 25,000 fighters and civilians have been bused out, according to the United Nations.