ALEPPO: Syria’s military and Russian warplanes bombarded rebel-held districts of Aleppo on Saturday as Damascus’s allies said victory was near, but insurgents fought back and army advances halted after rapid gains during the week. The United States said it was meeting a Russian team in Geneva to find a way to save lives, but an agreement looked elusive as the two countries, which back opposing sides, have repeatedly failed to strike a deal to allow evacuations and help aid deliveries. Russia, whose military intervention helped turn the war in President Bashar al-Assad’s favour, said the Syrian government now controls 93 percent of second city Aleppo, a figure Reuters could not independently verify. Its recapture would deal a major blow to rebels who have fought to unseat Assad in the nearly six-year war. The insurgents are holed out in a handful of areas mostly south of the historic Old City, having lost nearly three-quarters of territory they controlled for years in the space of around two weeks. Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah, a key military ally of Damascus alongside Russia and Iran, said late on Friday that a “promised victory” in Aleppo was imminent and would change the course of the war. The advances mean the government appears closer to victory than at any point since 2011 protests against Assad evolved into armed rebellion. The war has killed more than 300,000 people and made more than 11 million homeless. A win for Assad in Aleppo looks close, but fighting still raged on Saturday. Russian warplanes and Syrian artillery bombarded rebel-held districts, and rebels responded with shelling of government-controlled areas as gunfire rang out, a Reuters correspondent in Aleppo said. Russia and Syria said on Friday they had reduced military operations to allow civilians to leave. But rebels say their counter attacks are what have halted government advances. “There’s no advance by the regime. They (rebels) have stopped them several times,” Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. Government forces launched an attack in the Izaa area near the Old City early on Saturday which insurgents repelled, destroying an army tank, he said. Fighting has killed hundreds of people in recent weeks, monitors say, and devastated large areas of Aleppo. Parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Old City recaptured by the government were completely destroyed by fighting, a Reuters correspondent said. Old markets and bathhouses had been flattened. “I found my home destroyed,” said one returning resident, who gave only his family name, Sheikho. “I didn’t even recognise where it was because of the destruction,” he said. Mohammed Shaaban, standing outside a destroyed church, was also astounded by the destruction. “A year and a half ago when I last visited there was not this level of damage. I’m shocked and saddened. They destroyed civilisation and humanity,” he said, referring to rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said several people were killed in rebel shelling on Saturday. Hundreds have been killed in recent weeks, mostly in government bombardments, it says. Thousands of people have left rebel districts. Some fled to government-held areas but others went to areas under rebel control fearing arrest and reprisals by government forces. US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to show “a little grace” when American and Russian officials meet in Geneva later on Saturday to try to reach a deal enabling civilians and fighters to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.