Syrian government texts east Aleppo residents to leave

The Syrian government has sent text messages to residents and rebels in eastern Aleppo telling them to leave the area within 24 hours.

Government forces said that they were preparing a major offensive to push opposition fighters out of the besieged eastern half of the city.

"To the armed people in the neighbourhoods of east Aleppo, we are giving you 24 hours only to decide if you are leaving. Your leadership abroad is incapable of getting you out. Whoever wants to stay alive must drop his weapons and we will secure his safety. After the 24 hours is up we will implement a strategic attack using highly sophisticated weapons," the messages read.


"The opposition leadership that stays in hotels and castles enjoying a luxurious life doesn’t care about the poor Syrian citizens in east Aleppo. They are using you for their personal benefit. We are giving you, the sick and the wounded, 24 hours to exit if you want."

The move comes as Russia continues to build its naval presence off the coast of Syria, and as major Russian aircraft carriers arrive off the coast.

"This could be an all-out assault in the next 24 hours," Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish-Syrian border, said.