Government troops had been battling rebels from the Free Syrian Army in the eastern Ghouta area of the edge of Damascus for two days.
The fighting was the closest yet to the Syrian capital.
Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles carrying Syrian troops were reported to have moved into the Ghouta region.
Activists say some 60 people were killed in violence across Syria on January 29.
The increasing violence prompted the Arab League to suspend its monitor mission there on January 28.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “concerned” about the Arab League’s decision and called on Assad to “immediately stop the bloodshed.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the Arab League’s decision, saying Moscow would instead support increasing the number of monitors inside Syria.
The United Nations say at least 5,400 people have been killed in 10 months of violence.
compiled froma agency reports
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