Syrian rebels have received a US-backed proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in today, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached.
If the proposal were to be taken up by all sides, it would end four years of fighting in the city, and months of siege and intense bombardment that have created a humanitarian crisis - particularly in rebel territory that has now shrunk to a small pocket crammed with civilians.
Three officials with insurgent groups in Aleppo said that a letter outlining the proposal had been received, offering an "honourable" departure for the rebels to a place of their choice.
Rebel groups have yet to respond. But if fully accepted, the proposal would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias their greatest triumph in the civil war against the rebels who have fought for nearly six years to unseat him.
However, the sudden recapture by the so-called Islamic State of the ancient desert city of Palmyra after a much-trumpeted army victory there in March has shown how difficult Mr Assad may find it even after Aleppo to restore his rule across Syria.
The city's east had been a rebel stronghold since mid-2012, but government forces in recent weeks have overrun more than 85% of that area.
An estimated 120,000 people have fled the city's east, many heading towards displacement centres in government-controlled areas to the west.
Asked whether they had been contacted by the United States and Russia over talks between the two powers in Geneva to find a way out of the crisis, one of the officials with rebel groups that are present in Aleppo said: "They sent us a letter, they are saying to safeguard the civilians ... you can leave in an honourable way to any place you choose and the Russians will pledge publicly that nobody will be harmed or stopped," said one of the officials. "We have yet to give a response."
Moscow was working to create the necessary conditions for the safe extraction of people from Aleppo, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
"The issue of withdrawing militants is the subject of separate agreements. This agreement has not yet been reached, largely because the United States insists on unacceptable terms," he said in comments reported by RIA news agency.
IS recaptures Palmyra after Syrian armed forces pull out
Elsewhere in the country, IS recaptured Palmyra after Syrian armed forces pulled out from the desert city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"Despite the ongoing air raids, IS retook all of Palmyra after the Syrian army withdrew south of the city," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
The IS-linked Amaq news agency also reported that IS regained "full control" of the city.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting and heavy bombardment saw more than 10,000 people flee rebel-held areas of the besieged city of Aleppo since midnight.
The Turkish army said Turkish warplanes destroyed 27 IS targets and killed 12 militants in the latest operations in northern Syria.
The jets hit shelters, vehicles mounted with guns, ammunition depots and other targets strikes in the al-Bab, Bzagah and Kabr al Mukri regions of northern Syria, the army said in a statement.
The air strikes in northern Syria are part of Ankara's almost four-month-old "Euphrates Shield" operation with Turkish-backed rebels, which aims to push the jihadists and Kurdish militia fighters away from the Syrian border area.
Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed 300,000 people and left millions homeless while dragging in regional and global powers as well as inspiring jihadist attacks abroad.
