Heavy fighting resumed in Syria's eastern Ghouta yesterday after a short period of relative calm following reports that a ceasefire had been agreed there late on Friday, a war monitor and pro-government media sources said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said there was intense fighting accompanied by large blasts, heavy shelling and air raids after an attack by jihadist rebels. It said the Syrian army of President Bashar al-Assad had fired dozens of rockets and shells into eastern Ghouta since the ceasefire was reported to have begun.

Late on Friday, a rebel official said that Assad's ally Russia had promised the opposition delegation at peace talks in Vienna that it would put pressure on Damascus to enforce a truce in eastern Ghouta. The ceasefire was never publicly confirmed by the Syrian government.

International concern has been rising over the fate of 400,000 people living in besieged, rebel-held eastern Ghouta as acute food and medicine shortages have contributed to what the United Nations has called the worst malnutrition of the war.

Meanwhile, authorities in Syria's Kurdish autonomous region yesterday said they would not attend peace talks in Russia's Sochi next week because of Turkey's offensive against the Kurdish enclave of Afrin.

Rebel backer Turkey is one of the sponsors of the two-day talks in the Black Sea resort, along with Damascus allies Russia and Iran. On Saturday, Syria's main opposition group also said it would not attend the negotiations.