Syrian army said to begin shelling Aleppo Kurdish areas

The Syrian army began shelling Aleppo's Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods on Wednesday, after the deadline given for civilians to leave the area had passed, an AFP correspondent said.

The military had declared the city's Kurdish-controlled districts "closed military zones" from 3.00pm (1200 GMT), while creating "two safe humanitarian crossings" through which thousands of civilians had fled before the deadline, according to AFP correspondents.