PHOTO: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Thousands of civilians have left rebel-held eastern Aleppo districts, as the Syrian army continues its offensive to take full control over the city, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said as many as 10,000 residents fled to government-controlled western areas and a Kurdish-run northern district.

Syrian state media put the number at more than 1,500, while Russia said that 2,500 civilians had left.