Tension on the streets of Damascus as opposition fighters close in

DAMASCUS, Syria, December 7 — Syrian opposition fighters have reached the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, for the first time since the region was recaptured by government troops in 2018, opposition activists and a rebel commander said Saturday.

One resident told The Associated Press the city was on edge, with security forces on the streets and many shops running out of staple foods.

The Syrian army withdrew from much of the country’s south on Saturday. Lebanon said it is closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for a main one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria because of the security situation on the Syrian side.

The rapidly developing events in Syria have again put the region on edge.

The office of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is denying that he has fled the capital, Damascus, as rebels advance along the road between it and Aleppo.

It condemns "rumours and false news", adding that Assad is continuing to perform his duties from the Syrian capital.