Syrian forces enter 'final stage' of Aleppo conquest
Syrian state television on Monday evening announced that government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes and militias from across the region, gained control of more than 99 percent of eastern Aleppo.
"We are in the final moments before declaring the victory of the Arab Syrian army in the battle of East Aleppo. We could announce this any moment," a Syrian military source told Reuters news agency.
Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, echoed similar sentiments, telling Germany's DPA news agency that "we are seeing the end" of the battle.
"The areas still under opposition control are very small, and they might fall at any moment," he added.
According to independent war monitors, more than 130,000 people have fled Aleppo since November, when government and Russian forces pushed forward with a brutal campaign to retake rebel-held Aleppo. Since late Sunday, more than 10,000 have fled the city amid the uptick in violence.
Rassam Mustafa of the rebel group Nureddin al-Zinki's politburo said the situation has worsened for opposition forces.
"The regime is advancing under gunfire, missiles and shelling," said Mustafa. "The fighters (rebels) are retreating under pressure and the situation is very bad."
http://www.dw.com/en/syrian-forces-enter-final-stage-of-aleppo-conquest/a-36744142
The next task is to retake Idlib province in the northwest sector, followed by ISIS in the east.
