Syrian troops have captured a contested suburb of Damascus as the
government forged ahead with a offensive that already has taken four
other opposition strongholds south of the capital.For more than a year, much of the belt of neighbourhoods and towns
just south of Damascus has been a rebel bastion and a key arms conduit
for the opposition.But government forces – reportedly bolstered by fighters from
Lebanon's Shia armed group Hezbollah group and Shia fighters from Iraq -
have made significant headway in recent weeks in the area as President
Bashar al-Assad pushes to shore up his hold on the capital and its
doorstep.The town of Hejeira on Wednesday became the latest rebel-held suburb
to fall into government hands. The SANA state news agency said the army
seized control of the town, but was still battling rebels on the
outskirts.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group confirmed that
government forces were in control of most of Hejeira, but said there
were still small pockets of resistance.The opposition's hold on Hejeira became untenable after the military captured the adjacent town of Sabina in recent days.While the government has driven the rebels from several of their
footholds around the capital, the opposition is still within striking
distance of the centre of Damascus, and fires barrages of mortar rounds
into the city daily.
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