Civilians originally from both sides of Aleppo have reportedly taken part in a football match organised by the Syrian government after rebel forces turned down the invitation, as part of a supposed effort to achieve “national reconciliation”.

Leaflets were distributed across the divided city by members of Bashar al-Assad's regime encouraging residents and rebels to come together for a “friendly” game at the al-Hamadaniah sports arena.

Former residents of opposition-controlled territories who now live in western Aleppo were reported to have formed the "east" team, with no one leaving besieged areas to take part.

Social media posts and mass texts had claimed the government would allow safe passage to the game for rebels in the east of the city through prearranged routes.

“Fighters in Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods," read one of the invitations, "Aleppo Governorate invites you to participate in a friendly football match, as a goodwill initiative in the context of national reconciliation. Any citizens can take part in the match."

Some civilians in opposition-controlled east Aleppo were quick to dismiss the invitation as a publicity stunt, but online reports suggest the match took place as planned at noon on Thursday.

Photographs showed the two sides lining up next to the Syrian flag before the start of the match - a rare show of unity between people from across Aleppo. Other images showed a packed crowd watched the match at the 8,000-capacity stadium. Those who took part in the match were awarded medals at the final whistle.

Twitter user ‘Maytham’, who attended the match, told the Independent rebels refused President Assad’s offer, and the match was contested between government soldiers and “IDPs (internally displaced people) from eastern neighborhoods” who had fled to the west of Aleppo.

President Assad’s forces have been bombarding eastern Aleppo with renewed intensity for a number of weeks and recently crushed a rebel offensive aiming to break the government's siege of the area. The match was criticised by locals at a time when Syrian hospitals continue to be filled by victims of rocket attacks from both sides, as well as being severely damaged by bombardment.

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

Maytham said certain participants at the football match from east Aleppo requested for photographs not to be taken of them, as they feared their families might be targeted if it was shown they had taken part. Players from the east played in a white strip, while those from the east played in red.

“It’s just a media hype to show the criminal regime in a good light in front of the international community,” one Aleppo resident told the Telegraph. “They will claim the rebels don’t accept any initiative of good will when they are invited by the killers to play football on the remains of the injured and the dead.”