Syrian rebels pull back in Aleppo, call for ceasefire

Syrian rebel factions are proposing a five-day ceasefire for the evacuation of the sick and other civilians from the eastern part of the city of Aleppo.

The rebel proposal on Wednesday comes as Syrian government and allied forces have gained control of three-quarters of the enclave that the rebels had controlled since 2012.

The proposal made no mention of a rebel surrender or pullout.

• City under siege: Inside the battle for Aleppo
• Russia, China veto UN draft resolution for 7-day truce in Aleppo

The government's ground offensive was preceded by an intensive bombing campaign that knocked out medical facilities and left the civilian population in eastern Aleppo reeling from the onslaught.

The proposal calls for the 500 seriously wounded Aleppo residents to leave immediately, and for allowing civilians wishing to leave to head to northern rural Aleppo province, where there is almost no government presence.

Capt. Abdel-Salam Abdel-Razek of the rebel Nour el-Din el-Zinki faction says the future of the city of Aleppo is to be negotiated during this humanitarian pause, which the rebels want the United Nations to monitor.

There was no immediate response from Damascus on the proposal.

Rebel forces pulled back to other parts of eastern Aleppo amid the onslaught, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian government forces close in on Aleppo Old City

8 years ago

Duration 1:30

Fierce fighting as troops pummel rebel sites

Russian colonel killed

Restoring full control over Aleppo, Syria's most populous city before the war, would be a major prize for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's multi-sided conflict.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, made more than half of Syrians homeless and created the world's worst refugee crisis.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry says a Russian colonel who worked as a military adviser in the government-controlled part of the Syrian city of Aleppo has died in rebel shelling.

• 'Kids are dying,'BanaAlabed, 7, tweets from Aleppo after falling silent for a time

The fatality marks Russia's third casualty this week, after two nurses were killed in a rocket attack on a makeshift Russian military hospital in Aleppo.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Col. Ruslan Galitsky was wounded in rebel shelling of a government-controlled neighbourhood several days earlier and has died of wounds.

The Syrian government and its ally Russia have rejected a ceasefire for the war-torn city, keeping up the military offensive amid rebel retreats and massive displacement of Aleppo civilians.