Syrian army siege east of capital tightens as food, supplies dwindle

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria's army has sealed the few remaining smuggling routes into the besieged eastern suburbs of Damascus, activists and aid workers said on Wednesday, tightening a chokehold on rebel-held areas near the capital. Activists inside the Eastern Ghouta region, a semicircle of rural towns outside Damascus, said no food or supplies had entered the region in days. They said the army began intensifying its blockade over a week ago. …