Nearly 10,000 civilians fled battered eastern Aleppo for government-held districts and a Kurdish-controlled area over the weekend. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 6,000 people went to the neighbourhood of Sheikh Maksoud, the rest to government-controlled Aleppo zones.

Meanwhile the Russian military on Sunday reported noticeable progress in the evacuation of civilians. It said over 900 civilians, including one hundred and 19 children, left the militant-held area of Jabal Bidaru in the past 24 hours, using corridors provided by Russia and the Syrian authorities. Around 250,000 civilians are believed to remain besieged in the rebel-held eastern part. Once a commercial and industrial hub, Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting in Syria's nearly six-year conflict.

"The army received us. They joined up with us and got us into buses and made us safe. We did not fear the terrorists. We lived through four years of ill-treatment in Hanano".

"The rebel snipers followed us with weapons and started to shoot and shout at us. Then they hit a man behind us and two were killed. We had two choices: either die or run away. But God helped us".