Syria war: East Aleppo evacuees and devastation - in pictures
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Syrian government forces have recaptured up to 85% of the eastern side of Aleppo from the rebels. Opposition forces have also lost important territory in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and elsewhere in recent months.
Many of those who escaped the fighting in the east are now in government-controlled territory in the west (pictured) of what was once Syria's largest city.
Civilians continue to be caught in the cross-fire, with at least 46 people killed and another 230 injured on Thursday alone. These lucky few were evacuated to government-held parts of the city on Friday.
Women and young children were among the many residents who fled. But there are fears for hundreds of men who have disappeared after crossing into government-controlled territory.
Aleppo was once the country's commercial and industrial hub before the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began more than five years ago.
Now Aleppo is in ruins, marked by bombed-out buildings and destroyed roads as a result of prolonged ground fighting and air strikes. This image shows the devastation in the Qastal al-Harami neighbourhood.
The historic old city did not escape the violence.
International aid provisions were exhausted and food supplies were dwindling even before the Syrian army's new push to retake eastern Aleppo began three weeks ago.
Aleppo first became caught up in the war in July 2012, when rebels launched an offensive to expel government forces and gain control over northern Syria. But the assault was not decisive, leaving the city divided in half with the opposition controlling the east, and the government controlling the west.
For the next four years, the battle for Aleppo became a microcosm of the wider Syrian conflict.
President Assad believes that reclaiming the whole of Aleppo could help swing the course of the civil war in his favour.