Syrian troops advance in east Aleppo as they close in on thousands of civilians

AFP

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's state media and an opposition monitoring group say the government troops and allied militias have seized a wide strip on the southern edge Aleppo from rebels, closing in on tens of thousands of civilians squeezed into the center of the city.

State TV says the Syrian forces fully secured Sheik Saeed neighborhood — an area interspersed with agricultural fields along the southern stretch of the rebel enclave — on Monday, after days of intense clashes.

The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights estimates the fall of Sheik Saeed leaves rebels enclosed in a small area in central Aleppo that's only 10 percent of what rebels used to control.

Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to be still trapped in that area, accessible only through government-monitored crossing points.

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