This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38233962

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Aleppo battle: Syria rebels 'withdraw from old city' Aleppo battle: Syria rebels 'withdraw from old city'
(about 1 hour later)
Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo's old city, an activist monitoring group has said.Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo's old city, an activist monitoring group has said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pull-back came after days of heavy fighting, as government forces moved to split the remains of the rebel enclave in Syria's second city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pull-back in Syria's second city came after days of heavy fighting.
The rebels have held the area around the ancient citadel for four years. Later a rebel statement called for an immediate five-day ceasefire to allow for the evacuation of 500 critical medical cases under UN supervision.
The Syrian military now holds about 75% of eastern Aleppo and is seeking to control the whole city. The military has now taken about 75% of eastern Aleppo, controlled by rebels for the past four years.
It is moving to split the remains of the rebel enclave.
The rebels, who had been left with just a spit of land north-east of the citadel after recent government advances, abandoned it by Wednesday morning, retreating to territory they still hold further south.The rebels, who had been left with just a spit of land north-east of the citadel after recent government advances, abandoned it by Wednesday morning, retreating to territory they still hold further south.
State news agency Sana confirmed that the military had taken two districts which formed part of the spit - Aghyol and Bab al-Hadid.State news agency Sana confirmed that the military had taken two districts which formed part of the spit - Aghyol and Bab al-Hadid.
The SOHR said remaining rebel-held areas in the south-east of the city came under heavy artillery fire overnight.The SOHR said remaining rebel-held areas in the south-east of the city came under heavy artillery fire overnight.
At least 15 people were killed in government bombardments on Tuesday. it added.At least 15 people were killed in government bombardments on Tuesday. it added.
Tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in the last of the rebel-held districts.Tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in the last of the rebel-held districts.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Aleppo says officials there are preparing for another exodus, as families try to flee under fire in an extremely dire situation.The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Aleppo says officials there are preparing for another exodus, as families try to flee under fire in an extremely dire situation.
Reuters news agency quoted a rebel statement, signed in the name of the Aleppo Leadership Council, as calling for an immediate five-day ceasefire to allow for the evacuation of 500 critical medical cases under UN supervision. A statement by the rebel Aleppo Leadership Council said civilians were in great danger, and it would support any initiative to ease their suffering.
Food supplies are exhausted and there are no functioning hospitals after months of heavy bombardment. "Civilians should be either protected or evacuated to a safe area where they will not be under the mercy of Assad and his henchmen," it said.
It proposed:
Food supplies are exhausted in eastern Aleppo and there are no functioning hospitals after months of heavy bombardment.
However, the Syrian government has ruled out any further truces in Aleppo, and Russia and China on Monday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on a week-long ceasefire.
In a conference call on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described all the remaining rebels in eastern Aleppo as "terrorists," saying that they had united around the jihadist group formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
Meanwhile the Russian defence ministry reported that a Russian military adviser in Syria had been killed by rebel artillery fire.Meanwhile the Russian defence ministry reported that a Russian military adviser in Syria had been killed by rebel artillery fire.
Col Ruslan Galitsky died of his wounds several days after the attack, on a residential area of government-held western Aleppo, it said.Col Ruslan Galitsky died of his wounds several days after the attack, on a residential area of government-held western Aleppo, it said.