DAMASCUS: Syria’s army has advanced on several fronts in an embattled rebel enclave near Damascus, a military source told state media yesterday, reports AFP.

“Army units advanced on several fronts” and retook control of several farms and villages, the source told SANA, as the regime pushes forward a devastating ground and air assault on the Eastern Ghouta region.

Regime forces seized several districts including Al-Nashabiyeh and Otaya, east of Damascus, and “eradicated terrorist groups” that had controlled the area, the source said.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad launched a major assault earlier this month on the last major opposition bastion near Damascus, employing waves of air strikes, artillery fire and rocket attacks that are reported to have left more than 640 civilians dead.