Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he had received “deeply disturbing reports” of dead bodies lying in the streets and that residents were unable to retrieve them in the intense bombardment out of “fear of being shot on sight.”

He said that 11 women and 13 children were among the 82 civilians killed Monday, in what he described as the last “hellish corner” of rebel-held Aleppo.

“While some were reportedly able to flee yesterday, some were reportedly caught and killed on the spot and others arrested,” Colville said.

“In these hours, it looks like a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo.”