Summary The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the fighting Friday.
BEIRUT/MOSCOW/BEIJING (AP) Activists are reporting fierce battles and shelling in suburbs of the Syrian capital where the opposition claimed a chemical weapons attack this week killed more than 100 people.
In neighboring Lebanon, the army said in a statement that troops have captured a truck with "large amounts" of gas masks in the southeastern village of Kfeir near the border with Syria.
It did not say whether the masks were heading to Syria.
The offensive entered its third day Friday and comes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Syrian government to allow a U.N. team now in Damascus to swiftly investigate the alleged attack.
Ban is also sending U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane to Syria to press for an investigation.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the fighting Friday.
Russia has urged the Syrian government to cooperate with a U.N. experts mission and allow it to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons by troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry also said in a statement that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had agreed that an objective investigation was needed into the allegations when they spoke by telephone on Thursday.
Russia has been Assad s most powerful international ally during Syria s civil war. The ministry statement said rebel forces should guarantee safe passage for the U.N. mission.
China said on Friday that no side should rush to pre-judge the results of any probe by U.N.
chemical weapons experts in Syria, after Syria s opposition accused government forces of using such weapons in an attack on civilians.
"The U.N. inspection team has already gone to Syria to start their probe, and (China) hopes and believes they can fully consult with the Syrian government to ensure the smooth progress of the investigation work," China s Foreign Ministry said.
"We believe that before the investigation ascertains what really happened, all sides should avoid prejudging the outcome," it added in a statement on its website.
