Russia, whose military intervention helped turn the war in President Bashar al-Assad's favor, said the Syrian government now controls 93 percent of second city Aleppo, a figure Reuters could not independently verify. Its recapture would deal a major blow to rebels who have fought to unseat Assad in the nearly six-year war, as reported by Reuters.
Read alsoUN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding end to attacks in SyriaThe insurgents are holed out in a handful of areas mostly south of the historic Old City, having lost nearly three-quarters of territory they controlled for years in the space of around two weeks.
A win for Assad in Aleppo looks close, but fighting still raged on Saturday.
Russian warplanes and Syrian artillery bombarded rebel-held districts, and rebels responded with shelling of government-controlled areas as gunfire rang out, a Reuters correspondent in Aleppo said.
