Army advances in Aleppo, talks planned on rebel exit

Syria's army gained ground in the battle for Aleppo today, as regime ally Russia said it would hold talks with Washington on a total rebel withdrawal from the city.
President Bashar al-Assad's forces have seized two-thirds of the former rebel bastion in east Aleppo since they began an operation to recapture all of Syria's battered second city in mid-November.
The rapid gains for regime forces have left opposition fighters reeling and on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks would be held with Washington on a complete rebel evacuation from the city.
"During the Russian-American consultations the concrete route and timeframe for the withdrawal of all fighters from eastern Aleppo will be agreed upon," Lavrov said, adding that the discussions in Geneva would likely start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"As soon as these routes and timeframes are agreed on, a ceasefire can come into effect," Lavrov said.
The loss of Aleppo would mark the biggest defeat yet for opposition forces in Syria's five-year civil war.

The assault has raised an international outcry and the UN Security Council was due to vote later Wednesday on a draft resolution for a seven-day ceasefire in the city.
But Lavrov appeared to torpedo that move, suggesting Moscow might use its veto to block the resolution.
"The draft resolution... Is, for the most part, a provocative step that undermines Russian-American efforts," he told a press conference.

Russia is a staunch ally of Syria's government, and began a military intervention in support of Damascus in September 2015.
It says it is not involved in the current offensive in Aleppo, which has seen the army advance quickly as it pounds the east with air strikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire.
Overnight, the army and allied forces seized the Qadi Askar neighbourhood and effectively encircled the large Shaar district, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the army was attacking both from inside east Aleppo and from government-held western districts.
"The regime is draining the rebel fighters of ammunition by opening many fronts at the same time," he said.

Terrified residents spent a sleepless night in rebel-held neighbourhoods, as dozens of rockets rained down, AFP's correspondent in east Aleppo said.