BEIRUT - The Syrian rebel pullout from their last holdout in the city of Aleppo has been delayed.

The withdrawal was supposed to start early in the morning on Wednesday after the rebels the previous day reached a ceasefire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in what is effectively a surrender - and a defining moment in Syria's civil war.

The pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV broadcast footage of Syrian government buses idling at an agreed-on evacuation point. It's unclear what has caused the delay.

The TV says it expects at least another couple of hours of delay. It says the buses are prepared to move 5,000 fighters and their families to Atareb, an opposition-held town in the northwestern Aleppo countryside.

The Syrian government or the opposition haven't made any announcements about the delay.