Damascus suburb hit by fresh fighting despite ceasefire claims

At least nine people, among them seven government soldiers, were killed in fighting near the Syrian capital Damascus overnight, despite a fragile nationwide truce, a monitoring group said on Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting was continuing on Saturday in Wadi Barada, a rebel-held district northwest of Damascus that is home to the capital's main water source.

Millions of people have been without water for weeks after fighting in December damaged key infrastructure.

The regime and the rebels have traded accusations of responsibility, with the government saying the rebels deliberately targeted water infrastructure and the opposition saying army strikes hit pumping facilities.

The Observatory monitor said overnight fighting had killed at least seven Syrian soldiers and wounded about 20 others, some of whom were in serious condition.

Two civilians were also killed in the violence, the group said.

Repair teams were poised to enter the area, state media said, and were waiting to begin work.

Water supplies from Wadi Barada have been cut since 22 December.

Fighting has continued in the area despite the start on 30 December of a nationwide truce brokered by regime ally Russia and opposition backer Turkey.

The ceasefire, accepted by both the government and key rebel groups, has brought quiet to large parts of Syria, but the violence has continued in Wadi Barada.

There have been discussions about the possibility of an agreement to end the fighting, with experts able to enter the area to fix the damaged water infrastructure.

But so far no deal has been reached, and the UN warned earlier this week that 5.5 million people were now affected by water shortages in the capital and its suburbs.

Government media on Friday reported that a ceasefire agreement has been reached in Wadi Barada - reports senior rebels sources denied.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Over half the country's population has been displaced.