Aleppo battle ends as Syria rebel deal reached

Military action has ended in eastern Aleppo, Russia's ambassador to the UN has said.

Vitaly Churkin said the government had re-established control over the last areas of the city held by rebels.

The announcement, if confirmed, brings to an end more than four years of vicious fighting.

Earlier Mr Churkin said an arrangement had been made for rebel fighters to leave the city. Rebels have confirmed the deal.

Reporters on the ground said there had been no bombardments or fighting in recent hours.

The rebels had been squeezed into ever smaller areas of the city in recent months in a major government offensive backed by Russian air power.

Word of the deal came as the UN reported summary killings by pro-government forces.

The UN's human rights office said it had reliable evidence that in four areas 82 civilians were killed, adding that many more may have died. "According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over," Mr Churkin told an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

Earlier he had spoken of the deal allowing the rebels to leave, saying it would take place within hours.

"The agreement is for the fighters to leave," he said.

"The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians."

Rebel groups, when confirming the deal, suggested that civilians would be included in the exodus.

The seizure of the eastern part of the city by government forces and the crushing of the rebel enclave there represents a major propaganda victory for the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which now controls virtually all of the major population centres of the country.

Aleppo though - the most populous city before the civil war and the country's financial centre - is the biggest prize.

Its capture represents a victory not just for Mr Assad but also for his Iranian and Russian backers.

Aleppo itself may not matter much on Moscow's strategic chess-board. But the defeat of the rebel opposition there underscores the extraordinary turn-around in President Assad's fortunes.

Before Russia intervened President Assad was on the ropes, his military power crumbling.

External actors have propped up his government in large part to secure their own strategic aspirations. And these aspirations will play an important part in deciding what comes next.