SYRIAN rebel negotiator Nasr al-Hariri offered today to pull al-Qaida fighters out of Damascus’s Eastern Ghouta suburb if the government agrees to stop shelling the area.

Mr Hariri accused the Syrian army of “war crimes” over a push to regain control of the rebel-held pocket, which has seen air raids and artillery bombardment claim scores of lives.

Opposition groups in the area returned fire, pounding government-held districts with mortar shells.