Rebels withdraw from old Aleppo

Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo’s old city, while calling for a five-day truce to allow the evacuation of civilians. Activist monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the pull-back in Syria’s second city came after days of heavy fighting. State media confirmed the military had taken […]

Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo’s old city, while calling for a five-day truce to allow the evacuation of civilians.
Activist monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the pull-back in Syria’s second city came after days of heavy fighting.
State media confirmed the military had taken over the whole of the old city.
Government forces now control about 75% of eastern Aleppo, held by the rebels for the past four years.
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 US, Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Canada jointly called for an immediate ceasefire on Wednesday, so that the UN can send vital supplies to eastern Aleppo.