Reporting from Beirut in Lebanon on the fighting in Damascus overnight, Al Jazeera's Rula Amin said: "Residents are telling us there was intense gunfire for hours. They could hear from loudspeakers the army and the security forces asking armed men to leave one of the buildings, Hamada Supermarket."

"Al-Mezzeh is not geographically located at the heart of the capital but it's a very important neighbourhood. It is heavily guarded. There are a lot of high ranking officials living in Mezzeh, in addition to UN headquarters, embassies, and ambassadors," she said.

"This is taking place as the government claims they have control over the capital."