The Syrian military has been evacuating thousands of civilians who have been fleeing eastern Aleppo [Xinhua]
In a sign that the hold of the Islamist rebels on Aleppo may be weakening, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said early Monday that over 10,000 civilians have fled rebel-held areas in the city towards government-held districts.
State news agency SANA reported earlier that day that 1,500 civilians were evacuated out of rebel-held eastern Aleppo through exit corridors designated by the Syrian army.
This comes as the Syrian army has taken three important neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo over the past 24 hours – including Masaken Hanano, the largest rebel-held area in eastern Aleppo – which divided the rebel-held area of the city in two..
“The revolutionary forces are reinforcing their defence lines on the edges of Hanano, steadfast in the defence of our people in Aleppo … But the planes have destroyed everything, stones, trees and people, in a systematic policy of destruction,” Yasser al-Yousef, from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group, told Reuters.
The Syrian army has repeatedly called on the rebels to allow civilians to leave, echoing a similar appeal by UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura who had in October said he would personally escort hundreds of Islamist rebels from Aleppo in a bid to save the city from further government attacks.
Aid groups estimate that nearly 250,000 civilians were trapped in the eastern part of Aleppo held by some 1,000 Islamist rebels from different factions.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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