As Syrian government forces encircled the last sliver of rebel-held territory in Aleppo on Monday, trapped residents braced for the worst. Some posted final messages online, saying their possible final farewells amid the rumble of intensifying airstrikes and war planes overhead — the sounds of the Bashar al-Assad regime closing in.

“I am waiting to die or be captured by the Assad regime…Pray for me and always remember us,” photographer Ameen al-Halabi wrote on Facebook.

American video journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem, one of few still getting reports out of eastern Aleppo, recorded a video message calling out Muslim countries who failed to help Aleppo, saying, “You blew it.”

“The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They (rebels) don’t have much time. They either have to surrender or die,” said Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government’s Aleppo security committee, according to Reuters.