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The Syrian army and its allies advanced on Sunday in southeast Aleppo
and a rebel official said insurgents face "death or surrender" in an
ever smaller enclave, with large numbers of civilians under very fierce
bombardment.
Russian and U.S. officials are meeting in
Geneva on Sunday for more talks on an elusive deal for civilians and
fighters to leave the city, diplomats said, but the rebel official said
the Aleppo insurgents had had no word yet on their progress.
The
fall of all of Aleppo to President Bashar al-Assad would bring him the
biggest victory yet after nearly six years of civil war, but he would
still remain far from restoring government control over his country.
More than 200 miles (120 miles) away, Islamic State staged a
surprise advance on the city of Palmyra over the weekend despite losing
ground elsewhere in the country, showing how volatile the fortunes of
war are and how stretched the army and its allies are.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the militants
had recaptured the ancient city on Sunday after briefly retreating in
the face of heavy Russian air strikes.
Heavy shelling and
air raids pounded Aleppo's besieged rebel pocket from midnight on
Saturday and throughout Sunday morning, a Reuters reporter in the city
said, with explosions at a rate of more than one a minute. Gunfire was
also heard.
"The result will certainly be a complete end
of the district, in a tragic way," said the Turkish-based official from
the Jabha Shamiya rebel group, which is present in Aleppo.
Thousands
of refugees are still pouring from the areas of fighting. The
Observatory said on Sunday that more than 120,000 civilians had left the
eastern part of the city as the government advance closed in, but that
tens of thousands remained.
Assad's forces are supported
by Russian air power, Iran and Shi'ite militias from Lebanon, Iraq and
Afghanistan. Together they have helped to turn the tide of conflict his
way after he seemed to be on the back foot in mid-2015.
The
mostly Sunni rebels include groups supported by the United States,
Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but also some jihadist factions that receive
no assistance from the West.
The army seized the
al-Maadi district on Sunday morning before rebels were able to return
and continue fighting there, said the Jabha Shamiya official.
A
Syrian military source said the army and its allies had captured the
al-Asila and Aaajam districts, southeast of Aleppo's ancient citadel, as
well as the southern portion of the Karam al-Daadaa neighbourhood.
The Observatory also said the army had advanced in those areas.
Reuters
reporters on a tour of Old City districts captured by the army saw how
its historic covered market had been pounded, with ancient quarters
reduced to a warren of defensive positions adorned with rebel slogans.
"Embrace death for Aleppo" was one.
State
television showed footage of the east Aleppo fighting: a tank moving
slowly along a street as soldiers ran alongside it, smoke and dust
billowing around them.
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