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| Smoke rises from the besieged Eastern Ghouta in Damascus. (Reuters) |
Syrian government forces took almost complete control of the town of al-Shayfouniya in eastern Ghouta near Damascus on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, pressing an assault into the last rebel stronghold near the capital.
The spokesman for a rebel group, writing on Twitter, said government forces had mounted a failed attempt to storm a nearby area, al-Rayhan, but did not mention al-Shayfouniya.
A commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad said fighting was underway in al-Shayfouniya, without giving further details.
