Monitor says Syrian army seizes Aleppo Old City from rebels

Women walk near damaged buildings in rebel-held besieged old Aleppo, Syria December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A war monitor said on Wednesday the Syrian army had seized control of all parts of the Old City of Aleppo which had been held by rebels, part of an advance which has seen insurgents lose around two thirds of their main urban stronghold over the past two weeks.

The Syrian army and allied forces began to enter the Old City on Tuesday, and are looking closer than ever to achieving their most important victory of the five-year-old civil war by driving rebels out of the besieged eastern sector of the city.