Syrian troops press assault on town near Damascus

Syrian troops shelled a besieged town near Damascus and clashed with rebels on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday as the country’s conflict entered its 22nd month, a watchdog and activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce battles as the army sent in reinforcements and tried to storm the town of Daraya on different fronts.

Army artillery gunners were pounding the town, southwest of Damascus, the monitoring group said, after activists reported that troops had used rocket launchers and heavy artillery on Friday.

“This is the 28th day the criminal Assad forces have attempted to break into the town,” read a statement from activists in Daraya.

Troops tried to storm the town from several directions, but the Daraya Martyrs battalion, a unit of the rebel Free Syrian Army, has kept them at bay, the activists said.

Air and artillery bombardments have focused on Daraya and the nearby town of Mudamiyeh in recent weeks, raising fears of a major ground assault.

Daraya “remains isolated from the outside world due to a communications and power cut for the past 37 days. With ongoing fuel cuts, there is an urgent need for supplies to be restored as winter sets in,” they said.