The Security Council on Monday (December 19th) voted to quickly deploy UN observers to Aleppo to monitor evacuations and report on the fate of civilians who remain in the besieged Syrian city, AFP reported.

The council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution that marks the first show of unity in months among world powers grappling with the crisis in Syria.

The measure tasks the UN with carrying out "adequate, neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations from eastern Aleppo and other districts of the city".

It requests that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon take urgent steps to allow the observers to monitor "the well-being of civilians" and to consult with interested parties on the deployment.

"This is a starting point," French Ambassador François Delattre told reporters. "We will be extremely attentive, extremely vigilant."

Thousands of Syrians left opposition-held Aleppo on Monday under a complex evacuation agreement that will see regime forces exert full control over the battered city.

The operations resumed on Monday, with around 5,000 people traveling in 75 buses out of Aleppo, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

These were the first departures since Friday when the government suspended evacuations.