Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Shiite allies took new ground in a major offensive in southern Syria on Wednesday, pressing a campaign against insurgents posing one of the biggest remaining threats to Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict, said the attacking forces spearheaded by Hezbollah had taken several hilltops and villages, and Syrian state television reported advances on Wednesday. A spokesman for a rebel group said they had lost ground, but described it as insignificant. The south is the last notable foothold of the mainstream, non-jihadist opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, who has consolidated control over much of western Syria after almost four years of civil war. Al Qaeda's Syrian arm, the Nusra Front, is also active in the south, which stretches up to the frontiers with Jordan and Israel, while rival Islamic State jihadists control much of the north and east of the country. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura met Assad in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss his proposal for a ceasefire in the northern city of Aleppo, but that initiative is effectively frozen, Western diplomats say. Sources on both sides of the southern battlefront said the offensive aimed to shield the capital Damascus, a short drive to the north. The insurgents had made significant gains in the south in recent months, taking several military bases. Syrian state TV broadcast live from Deir al-Adas, a town some 30 km (19 miles) south of Damascus that it said had been captured. The sound of artillery being fired could be heard. The nearby town of Deir Maker was also taken, state TV said. "We were able to liberate this town, and, God willing, the rest of the towns will be liberated," said a Syrian military officer interviewed on state TV from Deir al-Adas. Media close to the Syrian government and Hezbollah said the operation had been several weeks in the planning. Hezbollah, a powerful Shi'ite Islamist group backed by Iran, has offered crucial military support to the Syrian government during the civil war, which has killed around 200,000 people. The southern rebels have received aid including what they describe as small amounts of military support through an operations room based in Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally determined to keep its Syrian frontier safe from jihadists.
Meanwhile, a monitoring group said Syrian air force raids have killed at least 183 people in insurgent strongholds east of the capital in the past 10 days.
The bombs targeted the green belt of Ghouta around the capital and markets in the city of Douma, about 10 km (6 miles) northeast of central Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Syrian officials were not available to comment.