Status of main battle fronts in Iraq and Syria

Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Iraq and Syria, as of 1700 GMT on Friday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo -

Rebels put up fierce resistance against Syrian government forces in the key district of Sheikh Saeed on the southeast edges of the battered city.

In preparation for street-by-street fighting in rebel-held eastern districts, hundreds of fighters from Syria's elite Republican Guard and Fourth Division arrived in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

More than 300 civilians, including dozens of children, have been killed in east Aleppo since the government offensive began on November 15, the monitoring group said.

It said four civilians were killed in rebel rocket fire on government-held areas Friday, bringing to 59 the civilian toll in the city's west.

Dozens more families trickled out of east Aleppo, adding to the more than 50,000 people who have fled to territory controlled by government forces or local Kurdish authorities.

Among those fleeing are nearly 20,000 children, according to estimates by the UN children's agency.

"What is critical now is that we provide the immediate and sustained assistance that these children and their families desperately need," UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac said in Geneva.

- Raqa -

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, is trying to push closer to the Islamic State group's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.

The SDF has been battling the jihadists to drive them from positions around 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the city.

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Since launching an offensive on October 17 to oust IS from its last Iraqi stronghold, pro-government forces say they have recaptured 40 percent of the eastern half of the city and are edging towards the Tigris river that divides it.

Bad weather has slowed operations, although elite army units said Friday they have seized another eastern district.

Some 74,000 people have fled the fighting, but upwards of a million are still there.

UN figures show that around 2,000 members of Iraqi forces and more than 900 civilians were killed in fighting across the country in November.

Source: AFP