Thousands flee rebel-held districts of Aleppo

Transcript

00:00Syrian regime forces have retaken a third of rebelled-held territory in Aleppo, forcing

00:10nearly 10,000 civilians to flee as they press their offensive to retake Syria's second-largest

00:15city.

00:16In a major breakthrough in the push to retake the whole city, regime forces captured six

00:21rebelled-held districts of eastern Aleppo over the weekend, including Masak and Hanano,

00:27the biggest of those in eastern Aleppo.

00:30Yesterday, on the 13th day of the operation, they also took control of adjacent neighborhoods

00:35of Jabal Badra and Ba'din and captured three others.

00:40The regime gains came as its aircraft pounded the city and heavy clashes resulted between

00:46opposition and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the strategic Sakur district.

00:52Masak and Hanano was the first district the rebels took in the summer of 2012 in a move

00:57that divided the city into rebelled-held east and regime-controlled west.

01:02Around 250,000 civilians besieged for months in the east have faced serious food and fuel

01:08shortages.

01:09It is the first exodus on this scale from east Aleppo since 2012.

01:14The latest regime push comes after days of intense bombardment on the east, which has

01:19been pounded with airstrikes, shelling, and barrel bombs.

01:23At least 225 civilians, including 27 children, have been killed since the government's latest

01:28assault on east Aleppo began on November 15.