- Title: Residents celebrate army's advance in eastern Aleppo
- Date: 12th December 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUNTHER ABDUL RAHMAN, SYRIAN CITIZEN, SAYING: "May God salutes the Syrian Arab Army and hopefully joy always happens." PEOPLE CHANTING "God, Syria and Bashar (Syrian President Bashar al Assad) only." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BILAL ALABI, STANDING BARE-CHESTED IN RAIN, SAYING: "I am really happy, this is Aleppo, this is Aleppo. We are all happy at this liberation and we have finally seen the end of the militants. God, Syria! and God protect (us)."
- Embargoed: 27th December 2016 22:36
- Keywords: Aleppo President Bashar al Assad war conflict eastern western celebrations Syrian army rebels liberation
- Location: ALEPPO, SYRIA
- City: ALEPPO, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Reuters ID: LVA0055CKYZIF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Syrians took to the streets of western Aleppo on Monday (December 12) in celebration of the advance made by the Syrian army against rebels in the eastern part of the city.
As rain fell, people celebrated in the university hospital square and danced on the streets in the al Shabaa area, as national songs played from cars and tanks.
Others chanted slogans cheering for the army and the Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Rebels withdrew from all districts on the east side of the Aleppo river on Monday afternoon after losing Sheikh Saeed in the south of their pocket in overnight fighting, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The rebels' rapidly diminishing enclave had halved in only a few hours and Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman described the battle for Aleppo as having reached its end.
A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone said the bombardment of rebel areas of the city had continued non-stop on Monday, and a civilian trapped there described the situation as resembling "Doomsday".
Sixty people were killed, including civilians and fighters, when the Syrian army stormed several rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the Observatory said. They were killed by gunfire or shelling as troops took the neighbourhoods of Fardous, Bustan al Qasr and Zibdiya. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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