Media captionThe children of eastern Aleppo have never known a life without warSyrian government troops have gained control of 50% of rebel-held areas of east Aleppo, says a military spokesman. Gen Samir Sulaiman told the BBC he hoped all of Aleppo would be in government hands within weeks. Gen Sulaiman was speaking a day after the army seized another district, Tariq al-Bab, from the rebels opposing President Bashar al-Assad. Swathes of east Aleppo held by rebels have been seized by government troops and militiamen in the past three weeks. Earlier reports on Saturday had suggested as much as two-thirds of the rebel-held area had been recaptured. Up to 250,000 people remain trapped in besieged areas of the city, the UN says. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced. The United Nations this week said conditions in east Aleppo were now so dire that medical operations were being conducted without anaesthetics. Media captionLina Shamy spoke to BBC Arabic from inside rebel-held Eastern Aleppo.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Tariq al-Bab was recaptured more than four years after falling into rebel hands. Clashes in the district left tens of fighters on both sides killed or injured, it said. At least 300 people have been killed since the government-led offensive on east Aleppo. Thousands of people fled Tariq al-Bab into neighbouring areas as fighting intensified. New push – by Lyse Doucet, west Aleppo The thunderous boom of shelling can be heard across Aleppo as Syrian warplanes and artillery pound…more detail
