The seven-year-old girl who has been tweeting about the dire situation in Aleppo has been evacuated from the city and is safe, a charity official has said. 
 
 Bana Alabed is among the around 3,000 people to have reached relative safety on Monday after a weekend in which the evacuation of thousands of civilians from the last rebel enclaves of the embattled Syrian city was delayed. 
 
 Ahmad Tarakji, the president of the Syrian American Medical Society, tweeted that Bana was safe and well in the Aleppo countryside, along with a picture of her smiling in an aid worker's arms. 
 
 The news comes as it emerged 10 buses carrying around 500 civilians from two Shiite villages besieged by rebels in northern Syria are on their way to government-controlled areas. 
 
 Evacuations of injured fighters and residents from Foua and Kfarya were conditions which were added to a ceasefire deal that paved the way for the last rebels and civilians to depart from what was left of the revolution in Aleppo. 
 
 However, the deal was jeopordised after both sides reported ceasefire violations last week, and al-Qaeda affiliated rebels set fire to some of the buses going to Foua and Kfraya on Sunday. 
 
 Syrian citizens flee gunfire at Aleppo crossing 
 
 The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said that the operation was proceeding as of Monday, as buses left Foua and Kfarya. More than 2,000 sick and wounded people are supposed to leave the villages. 
 
 Bana set up a Twitter account with the help of her English-speaking mother Fatemeh in September, using it to talk about how she wanted to go to school. Fatemah Alabed also posted messages asking for the international community to help stop the air strikes that have pounded Aleppo in the last few months, and pictures of Bana and her two younger brothers. 
 
 The account was criticised by many, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad himself, who said he believes it is terrorist propaganda. However, several investigations have colloborated that Bana and her family are real. 
 
 When the Russian-backed Syrian government offensive on Aleppo intensified two weeks ago, Fatemeh tweeted that their home had been destroyed, and her father injured. The pair also posted 'goodbye' messages and temporarily deleted the account when it became clear the Syrian army and allied militias were closing in. 
 
 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 show all In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/30 A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty 
 
 2/30 A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty 
 
 3/30 Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty 
 
 4/30 Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty 
 
 5/30 Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty 
 
 6/30 Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty 
 
 7/30 Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty 
 
 8/30 Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty 
 
 9/30 Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty 
 
 10/30 A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images 
 
 11/30 Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters 
 
 12/30 Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppoís eastern neighborhoods EPA 
 
 13/30 Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty 
 
 14/30 Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA 
 
 15/30 A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty 
 
 16/30 The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty 
 
 17/30 Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty 
 
 18/30 Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty 
 
 19/30 Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty 
 
 20/30 Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty 
 
 21/30 A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire 
 
 22/30 Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire 
 
 23/30 Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire 
 
 24/30 A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire 
 
 25/30 A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire 
 
 26/30 A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire 
 
 27/30 A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters 
 
 28/30 Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters 
 
 29/30 The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters 
 
 30/30 Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters 
 
 The Alabeds are now in Idlib, the rebel-held province to the west of Aleppo, but several aid agencies have warned that conditions for new arrivals are dire. There was not adequate time to prepare for the influx of people from Aleppo, meaning many are without adequate shelter in the freezing weather, and food and medical help are still scarce. 
 
 Idlib has also been heavily targeted by regime air strikes in the past few months - which analysts say are likely to continue. 
 
 Later on Monday, the UN Security Council will vote on a resolution to allow the international body's staff to monitor the evacuations in the hope they can contiune without further hold ups. The draft resolution was the result of a compromise between Russia and France, and the US said it was expected to pass unanimously. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Here comes the barrel bomb" - trapped resident Joud al-Khatib in Aleppo 
 
 Military action has ended in eastern Aleppo, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has said. 
 
 He said Syrian government troops had re-established control over the last areas of the city held by rebels. 
 
 He said an arrangement had been made for rebel fighters to leave. The rebels confirmed the deal, but said civilians would also be allowed to leave. 
 
 The latest developments could bring to an end more than four years of vicious fighting in which thousands have died. 
 
 Reporters on the ground said there had been no bombardments or fighting in recent hours. 
 
 The rebels had been squeezed into ever smaller areas of the city in recent months in a major government offensive backed by Russian air power. 
 
 Word of the deal came as the UN reported summary killings by pro-government forces. 
 
 It said it had reliable evidence that in four areas 82 civilians were killed, adding that many more may have died. 
 
 The UN and the US said the Syrian government and its allies Russia and Iran were accountable for any atrocities committed in the city. 
 
 Russia said the allegations were untrue. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption As rebels are pushed out of eastern Aleppo, one resident explains why many civilians are unable to escape. 
 
 "According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over," Mr Churkin told an emergency session of the UN Security Council. 
 
 Earlier he had spoken of the deal allowing the rebels to leave, saying it would take place within hours. 
 
 "The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians," Mr Churkin said. 
 
 Rebel groups suggested that civilians would be included in the exodus. 
 
 Extraordinary turnaround: By BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption On Monday, Syrians in western Aleppo celebrated the prospect of an imminent victory in the east 
 
 The seizure of the eastern part of the city by government forces and the crushing of the rebel enclave there represents a major propaganda victory for the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which now controls virtually all of the major population centres of the country. 
 
 But Aleppo - the most populous city before the civil war and the country's financial centre - is the biggest prize. 
 
 Its capture represents a victory not just for Mr Assad but also for his Iranian and Russian backers. 
 
 Aleppo itself may not matter much on Moscow's strategic chess-board. But the defeat of the rebel opposition there underscores the extraordinary turn-around in President Assad's fortunes. 
 
 Before Russia intervened President Assad was on the ropes, his military power crumbling. 
 
 External actors have propped up his government in large part to secure their own strategic aspirations. And these aspirations will play an important part in deciding what comes next. 
 
 Aleppo: Key dates in the battle 
 
 Red Cross doctor's heartbreaking letter 
 
 What is the situation in the rebel areas? 
 
 Before the end to hostilities was announced, the rebels had retreated into just a handful of neighbourhoods. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aleppo MP Fares Shehabi denied government forces were committing atrocities 
 
 It is hard to know exactly how many people are in the besieged areas, although UN envoy Staffan de Mistura put the figure at about 50,000. 
 
 He said there were approximately 1,500 rebel fighters, about 30% of whom were from the jihadist group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. 
 
 Other local sources say there could be as many as 100,000 people, many of them arriving from areas recently taken by the government. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "There will be a genocide" Aleppo resident tells BBC Newsnight 
 
 Ibrahim Abu-Laith, a spokesman for the White Helmets volunteer rescue group, said 90% of their equipment was out of operation and only one medical point was still working in the besieged areas. There was no first aid equipment left, he added. 
 
 He said volunteers were using their hands to pull people out of rubble, but some 70 people were stuck and could not be extracted. 
 
 Last messages from Aleppo 
 
 Activist Lina Shamy: "Humans all over the world, don't sleep! You can do something, protest now! Stop the genocide". 
 
 Bana Alabed, aged 7: "I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die." 
 
 White Helmets tweet: "All streets & destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies. It's hell." 
 
 Abdul Kafi Alhamado, teacher: "Some people are under the rubble, no-one can help them. They just leave them under the rubble until they die - these houses as their graves." 
 
 The 'final goodbyes' from Aleppo 
 
 What has happened in districts seized by the government? 
 
 UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said that 82 civilians had reportedly been killed by pro-government forces, of whom 11 were women and 13 children, adding that the death toll could be much higher. 
 
 He said there were reports of numerous bodies in the streets, with residents unable to retrieve them for fear of being shot on sight. 
 
 The UN's humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, earlier spoke of "massacres of unarmed civilians, of young men, of women, children, health workers", saying a pro-government Iraqi Shia militia was responsible for the killings. 
 
 What does this mean for the civil war? 
 
 This is a huge blow to the armed opposition, and a major victory for the Russians, the Iranians, Lebanon's Hezbollah and some Iraqi Shia militias. 
 
 But the rebels still control quite large areas, as do the jihadists of so-called Islamic State. So in terms of Syria itself the war continues. 
 
 The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen says it will be a different type of war - less rebels trying to hold territory and create their own entity, more hit-and-run and insurgency. 
 
 What is the international community saying? 
 
 At the UN Security Council meeting, US ambassador Samantha Power said the Syrian government and Russia and Iran bore responsibility for killings of civilians. 
 
 For the UK, Matthew Rycroft said the UN had failed in its mission to resolve the crisis, and the reports of atrocities "evoked the darkest days of the history of the United Nations". 
 
 Mr Churkin denied humanitarian abuses were taking place. Earlier Russia said atrocities were being carried out by "terrorist groups", referring to rebels. 
 
 How did Aleppo reach this point? 
 
 For much of the past four years, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two, with the government controlling the western half and rebels the east. 
 
 Syrian troops finally broke the deadlock with the help of Iranian-backed militias and Russian air strikes, reinstating a siege on the east in early September and launching an all-out assault weeks later. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption A stream of people try to flee the fighting 
 
 Syrian pro-government forces in eastern Aleppo have been killing people, including women and children, on the spot in their homes and on the street, the United Nations says. 
 
 The UN's human rights office said streets were full of bodies. 
 
 Meanwhile, the UN children's agency cited a doctor as saying a building housing as many as 100 unaccompanied children was under heavy attack. 
 
 Rebels, who have held east Aleppo for four years, are on the brink of defeat. 
 
 Thousands of people are reportedly trapped in the last remaining neighbourhoods still in rebel hands, facing intense bombardment as pro-government troops advance. 
 
 The Syrian government's ally Russia, which has rejected calls for a humanitarian truce, earlier said any atrocities were "actually being committed by terrorist groups", meaning rebel forces. 
 
 Rebel officials said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to evacuate civilians and fighters from besieged areas but there has been no confirmation from the Syrian government or Russia. 
 
 The UN Security Council will discuss the situation in Aleppo later on Tuesday. 
 
 What's happening in rebel areas? 
 
 "We're filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner" of eastern Aleppo, UN human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville told a news conference. 
 
 He said that 82 civilians had reportedly been killed by pro-government forces, of whom 11 were women and 13 children, adding that the death toll could be much higher. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Syrians in western Aleppo celebrated at the prospect of an imminent victory in the east 
 
 "Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets," Mr Colville added, while admitting it was hard to verify the reports. 
 
 "The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jan Egeland: Militiamen and their backers should be investigated 
 
 Meanwhile, Unicef quoted a doctor in the city as saying: "Many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo". 
 
 Ibrahim abu-Laith, a spokesman for the White Helmets volunteer rescue group, said 90% of their equipment was out of operation and only one medical point was still working in the besieged areas. There was no first aid equipment left, he added. 
 
 He said volunteers were using their hands to pull people out of rubble, but some 70 people were stuck and could not be extracted. 
 
 It is hard to know exactly how many people are in the besieged areas, although one US official with knowledge of efforts to secure safe passage for people in the city told the BBC that there were around 50,000 people. 
 
 Other local sources say there could be as many as 100,000, with people arriving from areas recently taken by the government. 
 
 Eastern Aleppo evacuees - in pictures 
 
 Former Chancellor Osborne: UK 'shares failings' over Syria 
 
 Last messages from Aleppo 
 
 Activist Lina Shamy: "Humans all over the world, don't sleep! You can do something, protest now! Stop the genocide". 
 
 Bana Alabed, aged 7: "I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die." 
 
 White Helmets tweet: "All streets & destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies. It's hell." 
 
 Abdul Kafi Alhamado, teacher: "Some people are under the rubble, no-one can help them. They just leave them under the rubble until they die - these houses as their graves." 
 
 The 'final goodbyes' from Aleppo 
 
 How close are rebel-held areas to falling? 
 
 Russia's military says 98% of the city is now back in government hands. 
 
 According to the AFP news agency, the rebels have control of just a handful of neighbourhoods, including Sukkari and Mashhad. 
 
 The Syrian army's Lt Gen Zaid al-Saleh said on Monday that the battle "should end quickly", telling the rebels they "either have to surrender or die". 
 
 The UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), has also said the battle for Aleppo had reached its end, with "just a matter of a small period of time" before "a total collapse". 
 
 What is the world saying about it? 
 
 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was alarmed by the reports of atrocities and had instructed his special envoy to Syria to "follow up urgently with the parties concerned". 
 
 France and the UK requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for Tuesday to discuss "the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st Century unfolding before our eyes," AFP quoted ambassador Francois Delattre as saying. The meeting will be held at 17:00 GMT. 
 
 The UN's humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, earlier spoke of "massacres of unarmed civilians, of young men, of women, children, health workers". 
 
 He named a pro-government Iraqi Shia militia as being responsible for the killings, but placed overall blame for any atrocities in the hands of the Syrian and Russian governments. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage reveals the extent of the devastation in eastern Aleppo 
 
 "Those who let them loose in this area are also accountable," he said. 
 
 In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Egeland was not in full possession of the facts on the ground. "If he did, he would be paying attention to the atrocities that are actually being committed by terrorist groups," he said. 
 
 For much of the past four years, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two, with the government controlling the western half and rebels the east. 
 
 Syrian troops finally broke the deadlock with the help of Iranian-backed militias and Russian air strikes, reinstating a siege on the east in early September and launching an all-out assault weeks later. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 The mother of a 7-year-old girl whose tweets chronicled the horrors of life in Aleppo said Monday her emotions are "between sadness and happiness" after finally being evacuated from the besieged city. 
 
 Bana al-Abed and her mother, Fatemah, have gained more than 320,000 Twitter followers after posting personal messages, photos and videos documenting their traumatic experiences. 
 
 NBC News spoke with 26-year-old Fatemah on Monday after she said her family had spent 18 hours being bused out of the last rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo. 
 
 "I really have two feelings ... between sadness and happiness," she said in a Skype interview. "I feel that my children in safer place, but we don't know how long we will be safe, and I don't know where we go." 
 
 She added that she felt "so sad because I left my soul there, I left Aleppo. Aleppo is my home, Aleppo is everything for me ... I love it and I teach my children to love it, and we stayed there until the last breath." 
 
 Fatemah and Bana arrived in Idlib on Monday, along with her 34-year-old husband, Ghassan, and two sons, 5-year-old Mohammed and 3-year-old Noor. They are staying with friends but don't know what their next move will be. 
 
 The family got out of Aleppo as part of an internationally coordinated humanitarian effort to evacuate thousands of people who were trapped there. 
 
 For much of Syria's five-year civil war, the city has been divided between rebel and pro-government forces, until a renewed drive by the Syrian regime, backed by Russian airstrikes, in recent weeks. 
 
 The campaign has seen much of the city — including schools and hospitals — devastated by the fighting, and unknown thousands of civilians killed. 
 
 Fatemah said her family waited for seven hours for a bus to take them out of the city on Sunday. When the bus finally came, she said, hold-ups meant the 40-mile journey took some 18 hours, finally arriving at 7 a.m. on Monday (midnight ET). 
 
 "We were held like hostage and like prisoners in our buses, without food, without water ... without warmth," she said. 
 
 During the interview, Fatemah pointed the camera toward Bana sleeping on the couch, confirming she had safely left the city. 
 
 "She is very sad because she left her home, and school, and her garden — but even they were bombed," she said of her daughter. 
 
 Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has called the mother and daughter's Twitter account propaganda promoted by "terrorists" and their supporters. But Fatemah denied this. 
 
 "You say what, what you want to say about us, but we are real people," she said. "We showed their war in a civilian [way], and we put it through the picture in our Twitter and we have spoken." 
 
 Since the evacuations began last week, some 15,000 people have been taken out of eastern Aleppo, according to Ingy Sedky, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. 
 
 Around 5,000 of these left since Sunday night and as of 9 a.m. ET there were around 75 buses ready to take more civilians out of the city, Sedky added. 
 
 Later on Monday, the United Nations Security Council will vote in New York on a resolution to allow U.N. staff to monitor the evacuations, Reuters reported. 
 
 The draft resolution was the result of a compromise between Russia and France, and the United States said it was expected to pass unanimously, according to the news agency. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption There are very few medical facilities for people in the rebel-held area 
 
 The UN and Red Cross have appealed for civilians to be protected, as fighting in Syria's Aleppo nears its end. 
 
 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said people had "literally nowhere safe to run". 
 
 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm "over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians". 
 
 Thousands of people are trapped in just a handful of rebel-held districts, which are facing intense bombardment as government troops advance. 
 
 What is the situation in rebel areas? 
 
 It is hard to know exactly how many people are trapped in the besieged areas, although one US official with knowledge of efforts to secure safe passage for people in the city told the BBC that there were around 50,000 people. 
 
 Some residents have sent out messages saying they are crowded into abandoned apartments and rainy streets, unable to take shelter from the bombing, the New York Times reports. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Abdul Kafi Alhamado, an English teacher, says it is "Doomsday" in rebel-held Aleppo 
 
 Teacher Abdul Kafi Alhamado described on Monday how his district was densely packed with people who had arrived from other areas, and "bombs are like rain", so there are "huge numbers of casualties". 
 
 "People are running, they don't know where, just running. People are injured in the streets, no-one can go to help them. Some other people are under the rubble, no-one can help them," he told the BBC. 
 
 Many are said to be fearful about what will happen to them after the city falls, particularly after allegations by opposition activists that Syrian government forces have been carrying summary killings of rebels in neighbourhoods that were captured on Monday. 
 
 These claims appear to be backed up by the UN's humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, who said they had received "detailed reports of massacres of unarmed civilians, of young men, of women, children, health workers". 
 
 In western Aleppo, which is under government control, Syrian state TV showed footage of people celebrating at the prospect of an imminent victory. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption There were scenes of celebration in western Aleppo 
 
 How much of Aleppo remains in rebel hands? 
 
 Again, it is not entirely clear. Russia's military, allied to the Syrian government forces, says 98% of the city is now back in government hands. 
 
 According to the AFP news agency, the rebels have control of just a handful of neighbourhoods, including Sukkari and Mashhad. 
 
 The Syrian army's Lt Gen Zaid al-Saleh said on Monday that the battle "should end quickly", telling the rebels they "either have to surrender or die". 
 
 The British-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), has also said the battle for Aleppo "had reached its end", with "just a matter of a small period of time" before "it's a total collapse". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage reveals the extent of the devastation in eastern Aleppo 
 
 What has been the reaction? 
 
 Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said "the secretary-general is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo". 
 
 "While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports," he said, the secretary-general had "instructed his special envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned". 
 
 Meanwhile, the ICRC said a deepening humanitarian crisis could only be averted if basic rules of war and humanity were respected, warning "this may be the last chance to save lives". 
 
 Homage to Aleppo 
 
 Assad's fragmenting military 
 
 Mr Egeland tweeted that the governments of Syria and Russia were "accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing". 
 
 What do Syria and Russia say? 
 
 The Kremlin has hit back at Mr Egeland's allegations, saying the atrocities "are actually being committed by terrorist groups", by which it means the rebels. 
 
 "The fact here is he doesn't talk about these atrocities, which shows that unfortunately he doesn't have any information about the reality of the situation in Syria and Aleppo," said President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. 
 
 The US said on Monday that Russia had rejected the idea of a pause in the bombing to allow people to leave. 
 
 The Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides says it has helped 7,796 civilians leave rebel-held areas in the past 24 hours. 
 
 For much of the past four years, the city has been divided roughly in two, with the government controlling the western half and rebels the east. 
 
 Syrian troops finally broke the deadlock with the help of Iranian-backed militias and Russian air strikes, reinstating a siege on the east in early September and launching an all-out assault weeks later. 
 
 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that at least 415 civilians and 364 rebel fighters have been killed in rebel-held areas since 15 November and another 130 civilians have died in rebel rocket and mortar attacks on the government-controlled west. 
 
 Analysts say the fall of Aleppo would be a big blow to the opposition, as it would leave the government in control of Syria's four largest cities. ||||| Bana hides as bombs fall around her in Aleppo. (Twitter) 
 
 Aleppo governor Hussein Diab has promised to evacuate Bana Alabed, who has become renowned for tweeting her experience in the Syrian civil war. 
 
 Bana Alabed, 7, and her mother tweeted messages of despair on Tuesday as bombings intensified amid her family’s fears that the government will target them for fleeing. 
 
 “I am afraid to lose one of my kids if I flee with all the people because they think I work against the regime," Bana's mother Fatemah said in an interview with CNN. 
 
 Fatemah took to her daughter's Twitter account to express their fear their deaths are imminent and dismay no one will help them in tweets they have described as “final messages”. 
 
 However, the CEO of Al-Masdar News, Leith Avdou Fadel said on social media in the last few hours that the governor of Aleppo, Hussein Diab, had made a statement promising to evacuate Bana and her family. 
 
 The report came as Bana said her father was injured. “I am crying,” she said. 
 
 Bana has been tweeting her experience of the Syrian conflict nearly every day. Followers have learned she has lost some of her closest friends, her house and subsequent shelters. 
 
 Last week she was feared dead when her Twitter account was deleted. 
 
 Seven-year-old Aleppo Twitter girl goes silent as bombs fall Little girl who captured hearts and clouded minds has gone silent on Twitter. 
 
 Other people in Aleppo have also been using their Twitter accounts to post “final messages”. 
 
 Journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem tweeted a video, saying: “Perhaps my final message from E. Aleppo. Regime forces are closing in and bunker busters are raining down.”
– If conditions could get incrementally worse than "barely survivable," they just did in Aleppo, Syria. The human rights arm of the United Nations says that forces supporting the Syrian regime have been entering homes in eastern Aleppo and murdering residents, with one report coming in that 82 civilians (11 said to be women, 13 children) have been shot in four separate areas of the city, per the BBC. "We're filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner," says a UN spokesman, who conceded that confirmation of the reports was impossible at the moment. Another humanitarian rep from the UN is calling it a "complete meltdown of humanity." From elsewhere on the internet: The New York Times reports rebels hold just a "sliver of territory," per reps for the Syrian government and opposition forces. The paper notes it's "increasingly likely" that Assad's regime could regain control of the city "within days, if not hours." The UN and the Red Cross are making desperate pleas to spare the people of Aleppo, the BBC reports, with the International Committee of the Red Cross noting residents have "literally nowhere safe to run." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is said to be "alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians," and the ICRC said further tragedy could only be avoided if the basic rules of war were adhered to. An opinion piece in the Independent examines why the rebels are losing (they can partly blame Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia) and whether Assad will have truly won the war if he gets eastern Aleppo back under his command. Vice News has compiled social media postings from people trapped in Aleppo now saying their final goodbyes to the world. One photographer there wrote, "I am waiting to die or be captured by the Assad regime … Pray for me and always remember us," while the mom of Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old girl who's been made famous by her tweets out of the war-torn city, posted on her daughter's Twitter account, "Final message—I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye." SBS.com notes that Aleppo's governor has pledged to evacuate Bana and her family.