MOSCOW, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Syrian government forces have gained control of over 93 percent of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, liberating 52 neighborhoods from militants, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
In the last four days, the Syrian territory controlled by rebels has decreased by one third, Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the main operational directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, told a news briefing.
In the last 24 hours, he added, 1,096 militants have left Aleppo voluntarily, and 953 of them were pardoned under the amnesty declared by the Syrian government.
According to Rudskoi, more than 3,000 inhabitants of Aleppo have returned to their homes that the government troops took from the rebels.
He added that refugees would be able to return to Aleppo and surrounding villages in the near future, without specifying when it could happen.
The Syrian rebel fighters captured eastern Aleppo in 2012. The government troops and allied forces have recently launched a broad campaign to end their occupation of the city.
