Aleppo, Syria 7 Dec (ANA) - Syrian rebels have left the last areas they held in Aleppo's old city, an activist monitoring group has said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pull-back came after days of heavy fighting, as government forces moved to split the remains of the rebel enclave in Syria's second city. The rebels have held the area around the ancient citadel for four years. The Syrian military now holds about 75% of eastern Aleppo and is seeking to control the whole city. The rebels, who had been left with just a spit of land north-east of the citadel after recent government advances, abandoned it by Wednesday morning, retreating to territory they still hold further south. State news agency Sana confirmed that the military had taken two districts which formed part of the spit - Aghyol and Bab al-Hadid. The SOHR said remaining rebel-held areas in the south-east of the city came under heavy artillery fire overnight. At least 15 people were killed in government bombardments on Tuesday. it added. Tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in the last of the rebel-held districts.(ANA)

FA/ANA/7 December 2016----