The military situation in the Eastern Ghouta region near the Syrian capital of Damascus remains tense.
Clashes between the joint forces of Jaish al-Islam and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and the Syrian army have been ongoing at Nashabiyah and Hazrama. However, no side has been recently able to make notable gains.
This map shows the current situation in the region:
Click to see the full-size map
Al Masdar has a report on the Douma area that suggests it is trench warfare there now – what would explain why the front has hardly moved for months now: https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-deploys-new-cunning-tactic-ground-troops-close-douma-video/
That leaves the question why that can’t be overcome from the air. Maybe the Syrian air force is too weak and the Russians don’t participate?
Human shields.
Civilians have been transported in cages to the militants artillery and miltary bases to prevent then from getting bombed.
You can see the videos on YouTube, the “moderate rebels” commanders are completely open about what they are doing to deter airstrikes.
Once nashabiyah falls, this pocket will shrink by a third. That’s why the defense is so strong. It doesn’t need to be Liberated, the SAA just needs to surround it and cut them off, and the pocket will still shrink by a third.