Syrian government forces and allied militias have gained ground in clashes with rebels in eastern Ghouta as fighting rages despite a Russian ceasefire plan, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.
The government forces advanced in the Hawsh al-Dawahira area on the eastern edge of the opposition's besieged stronghold, the Observatory reported. The Syrian army and rebel sources could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.
The Russian plan is for daily, five-hour ceasefires in eastern Ghouta from 9am to 2pm. But after a brief lull, the agreement collapsed into renewed bombardment on Tuesday, the first day of the plan.
Eastern Ghouta, where the United Nations says around 400,000 people live, is a major target for President Bashar al-Assad, who has recovered numerous areas from rebels with Russian and Iranian military backing.
On February 18, the government and its allies began one of the heaviest bombardments of Syria's seven-year conflict on eastern Ghouta, killing hundreds of people in air and artillery strikes, the Observatory and local rescue workers say.
It led the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on Saturday calling for a full, 30-day humanitarian ceasefire reaching across all of Syria but excluding some jihadist groups.
Moscow and Damascus blamed rebels for the collapse of the truce on Tuesday, saying fighters had shelled a safe route intended for civilians to leave the enclave.
A Syrian military source said the corridor was open for a second day on Wednesday to allow civilians, the sick and wounded to leave eastern Ghouta. But state TV reported that no civilians had left the area on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Rebels say people will not leave eastern Ghouta because of fear of the Syrian government. The eastern Ghouta is an area of farmland and towns that represents the rebels' last major stronghold near Damascus.
Rebels have intensified shelling of nearby government-held Damascus. A medical official in the capital said on Monday 36 people had been killed in four days.
