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Syria war: Key Aleppo rebel area captured by forces Syria war: Key Aleppo rebel area captured by forces
(about 1 hour later)
Syrian government forces have captured a key part of eastern Aleppo, splitting rebel-held territory. Syrian government forces have captured a key part of eastern Aleppo, splitting rebel-held territory in two.
Both state TV and the monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the district of Sakhour had fallen to the Syrian army. State TV said government troops were dismantling mines and explosives and continuing their advance.
The Syrian army and their allies launched a major offensive to retake control of Aleppo in September. A monitoring group says the rebels have now lost more than a third of the previously rebel-held areas of Aleppo.
Thousands of civilians have fled rebel-held eastern Aleppo districts after a weekend of heavy fighting. Thousands of civilians have fled the besieged districts after a weekend of heavy fighting. Hundreds of families have been displaced within the area.
Hundreds of families have also been displaced within the besieged area. What are the latest developments?
Retaking the whole of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, is a key aim of the Syrian government in its fight against rebels. Both state TV and the UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the district of Sakhour had fallen to the Syrian army.
While it is very difficult to find out exactly what is happening in besieged eastern Aleppo, several key districts appear to have fallen to the government, leaving very little, if any, of the northern part of the rebel-held enclave still under the rebels' control. This cuts through the middle of the previously rebel-held territory, dividing it into two.
While it is very difficult to find out exactly what is happening in besieged eastern Aleppo, several other districts appear to have fallen to the government, leaving very little, if any, of the northern part of the rebel-held enclave still under the rebels' control.
Russia's defence ministry says Syrian government troops have captured 10 neighbourhoods from rebels, and that more than 100 rebels had laid down their weapons and left the area, Associated Press reports.
Aerial bombardment of rebel-held areas was continuing on Monday, according to the monitors.
The Syrian army and its allies launched a major offensive to retake control of Aleppo in September.
What has happened to the people who live there?
Thousands of residents of east Aleppo have fled to areas controlled by government forces and Kurdish groups since the fighting intensified on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said as many as 10,000 residents fled to government-controlled western areas and a Kurdish-run northern district.
State media showed men, women and children being transported to government-held areas on green buses.
Kurdish groups who control the Sheikh Maqsoud area of Aleppo provided images showing people fleeing the rebel-held neighbourhoods into a Kurdish-controlled district.
A spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish PYD party told Reuters that 6,000-10,000 people had fled into the district.
Scott Craig, the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria, told the BBC that there were 250,000 people in need of assistance in eastern Aleppo, 100,000 of them children. Food supplies are gone, he said.Scott Craig, the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria, told the BBC that there were 250,000 people in need of assistance in eastern Aleppo, 100,000 of them children. Food supplies are gone, he said.
"The situation on the ground in eastern Aleppo is almost beyond the imagination of those of us who are not there," Mr Craig said."The situation on the ground in eastern Aleppo is almost beyond the imagination of those of us who are not there," Mr Craig said.
He said around 2,000 civilians had fled the fighting.
State TV quoted a Syrian military source as saying that government forces "are continuing their advance in eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo".
"Our engineers are dismantling explosive devices and mines," he added.
Rami Abdulrahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Reuters that the opposition had lost more than third of the area it controlled in Aleppo city during the recent advance.
The east of Aleppo has been held by rebel factions opposed to President Bashar al-Assad for the past four years.
In the past year, Syrian troops have broken the deadlock with the help of Iranian-backed militias and Russian air strikes.
Russia says its air force is active in other parts of the country, but not operating over Aleppo.
Seven-year-old Bana Alabed, who has gathered thousands of Twitter followers with her tweets from Aleppo, said on Sunday that her home in the east of the city had been bombed.Seven-year-old Bana Alabed, who has gathered thousands of Twitter followers with her tweets from Aleppo, said on Sunday that her home in the east of the city had been bombed.
On Monday morning, her account tweeted:On Monday morning, her account tweeted:
"Under heavy bombardments now. In between death and life now, please keep praying for us.""Under heavy bombardments now. In between death and life now, please keep praying for us."
Kurdish groups who control the Sheikh Maqsoud area of Aleppo provided images showing people fleeing the rebel-held neighbourhoods into the Kurdish-controlled district. Why has this happened now - and why does it matter?
Retaking the whole of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, is a key aim of the Syrian government in its fight against rebels.
The east of Aleppo has been held by rebel factions opposed to President Bashar al-Assad for the past four years.
The loss of eastern Aleppo would be a devastating blow for the rebels.
Government forces have taken more and more territory from them since Russia intervened to back its ally, President Assad, in September 2015.
Iranian-backed militias and Russian air strikes have helped Syrian government forces to break the deadlock.
Russia says its air force is active in other parts of the country, but not operating over Aleppo.