BEIRUT: Syria`s embattled government said on Saturday it was setting up a ring of steel around Damascus, state media reported, as rebels on a lightning advance said they were bearing down on the city.

`There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one... can penetrate this defensive line that we, the armed forces, are building, InteriorMinisterMohammed al-Rahmoun told state television from the capital.

The government denied that the army had withdrawn from areas around Damascus. `There is no truth to news claiming our armed forces... have withdrawn` from positions near Damascus, the defence ministry stated.

Also, the presidency denied reports that President Bashar al-Assad had left Damascus, saying he was `following up on his work and national and constitutional duties from the capital`.

Rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, with the Islamist-led alliance that launched the offensive, said: `Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital.

The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (H TS), the Islamist group that has headed the assault, told fighters to prepare to take Damascus, just over a week into a renewed offensive in the long dormant conflict. `Damascus awaits you,` said HTS`s Ahmed al-Sharaa on Telegram, using his real name instead of his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

AFP has been unable to independently verify some of the information provided by the rebels and government.

The HTS leader said in a CNN interview that the goal of their `revolution remains the overthrow of this regime`.

A war monitor said rebels were within 20kms of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces had ceded more key ground, losing control of all of southern Daraa province, cradle ofthe 2011uprising.

However, the army said it was `redeploying and repositioning` in Daraa and another southern province, Sweida.

The Britain-based Observatory said after the HTS-led rebels seized Aleppoand Hama earlier in their offensive, Daraa was taken by local armed groups.

It added that troops were also evacuating posts in Quneitra, near the Israeliannexed Golan Heights.

Israel`s military claimed it was helping UN peacekeepers in the Syrian part of the Golan to repel an attack `by armed individuals` bordering the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

An Iraqi security source told AFP that Baghdad has allowed in hundreds of Syrian soldiers, who `fled the front lines`, through the Al-Qaim border crossing. A second source put the figure at 2,000 troops, including officers.

Since the offensive began last week, at least 826 people, mostly combatants but also including 111 civilians, have been killed, the Observatory said.

The UN said the violence has displaced 370,000 people.

UN calls for dialogue UN special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen called for `urgent political talks` to implement Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.

Also, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called for a `political solution to the conflict`, in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. However, US President-elect Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the United States should `not get involved`.

After Fidan and his Iranian and Russian counterparts discussed Syria in Qatar on Saturday, Iran`s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said they agreed on the initiation of `political dialogue between the Syrian government and legitimate opposition groups`.

Russia`s Sergei Lavrov said it was `inadmissible` to allow a `terrorist group to take control` of Syrian territory. Moscow and Tehran have supported Assad`s government and army during the war.

Qatar`s PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani noted, `Assad didn`t seize the opportunities to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people, and we didn`t see any serious movement, whether it`s on the return of the refugees or on reconciling with his own people.` Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syria `is tired of war, blood and tears`. `Our wish is for our neighbour, Syria, to find the peace and tranquility it has been dreaming of for 13 years.` -Agencies