Insurgents have reached suburbs of Damascus, Syrian opposition says

Syrian insurgents have reached the suburbs of Damascus as part of a rapidly moving offensive that has seen them take over some of Syria’s largest cities, opposition activists and a rebel commander said.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents are now active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya.

He added that opposition fighters are also marching from eastern Syria toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta.

A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces have started carrying out the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus.

He added that insurgents were headed from southern Syria toward Damascus.

Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency denied rumours that President Bashar Assad has left the country, saying he is at work in Damascus.