The battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo has "reached its end," a monitoring group said as government forces continued their advance in the rebel-held eastern part of the city.
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on December 12 that the rebels had withdrawn from six more neighborhoods in the city.
"The battle of Aleppo has reached its end," he said. "It is just a matter of a small period of time."
Earlier on December 12, the Russian military said Syrian government forces controlled more than 95 percent of the besieged city.
Aleppo has been divided since 2012 between government forces in the west and rebel groups who held the eastern part.
An offensive by Syrian forces on the ground aided by Syrian and Russian air attacks has led to the opposition forces losing nearly all of their hold on the city in the past month.
Russia's Defense Ministry said more than 2,200 rebels had surrendered since the start of the battle.