The Syrian army, together with its allies, continue to advance on the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo, announcing the capture of significant districts of the city; in an accelerating attack that threatens to crush the opposition in its most important urban stronghold. Two rebel officials said the insurgents, facing fierce bombardment and ground attacks, had withdrawn from the northern part of eastern Aleppo to a more defensible front line along a big highway after losses that threatened to split their besieged enclave. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the northern portion of eastern Aleppo lost by the rebels amounted to more than a third of the territory they had held, calling it the biggest defeat for the opposition in Aleppo since 2012. The Syrian army advance has made it possible for thousands of residents to flee the rebel-held area. Civilians expressed relief after fleeing the eastern parts, saying rebels that fight alongside al-Qaeda linked jihadists tried to bar them from leaving.
“We were suffering, they didn’t allow us to leave, when we wanted to leave they said that we were Assad supporters.” / “Thank God we are safe, when we were on the road they fired at us, and when we arrived here we were safe,” testified citizens of east-Aleppo. Part of the area lost by the rebels was taken over by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia from another part of Aleppo in what rebels described as an agreed handover, a rare example of cooperation between groups that have fought each other during the five-and-a-half-year conflict.