Assad regime forces sought Friday to follow up on their victory in a key town near the Lebanon border by sending reinforcements to battle rebels in Homs and the northern province of Aleppo.
The move comes a day after a brief rebel seizure of the Quneitra crossing on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights prompted Austria to say it was withdrawing its peacekeepers from the UN Disengagement Observer Force.
UNDOF peacekeepers from the Philippines and India were wounded by mortar shrapnel in fighting for the strategic crossing, according to UN diplomats.
Manila said it was also considering pulling out its 341-strong contingent.
Last month the Philippines foreign affairs department recommended its peacekeepers be removed after Syrian rebels briefly abducted four Filipino soldiers.
The same rebel group seized 21 Filipino peacekeepers in March. All were released unharmed.
Syrian government forces were on Friday trying to mop up final pockets of rebel resistance north of Qusayr, the border town which it retook Wednesday bolstered by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said President Bashar al-Assad's forces were also sending reinforcements to Aleppo province, where large swathes of territory have been in rebel hands for months.
"Clashes broke out at dawn between the army and rebels on the outskirts of Dabaa village" north of Qusayr, said the Britain-based group, adding Hezbollah forces were involved.
The Lebanese army warned Friday of a "plot" to embroil the country in the 26-month conflict, as deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the Assad regime multiply on its territory.
Official regime media had earlier reported that Dabaa fell on Thursday when there was, in fact, still a large rebel presence there.
A second rebel bastion north of Qusayr, Eastern Bweida where rebels and many wounded civilians fled after the fall of Qusayr, was still being bombarded by the regime.
"The army is seeking to impose its complete control of Qusayr and the surrounding area," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"It is leaving no way out for the rebels, and also not for the wounded or for civilians. It wants to annihilate the rebels or take them prisoner."
The Observatory said government forces were also massing "in their thousands" in Aleppo province, aiming primarily to take territory along the border with Turkey.
"They want to cut rebel supply lines from Turkey."
Assad's regime is largely Alawite, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the rebels seeking to topple it are mainly Sunni Muslims.
UN leaders held emergency talks late Thursday to replace the 377 Austrian troops who make up more than a third of UNDOF, which has monitored a ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974.
Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger called UN chief Ban Ki-moon to tell him of the withdrawal, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
"The secretary general is concerned about the potential consequences of such a withdrawal on the peacekeeping operation and also on regional security, and in that regard, he regrets the decision that has been taken," Nesirky added.
The Austrian pullout would leave the force with just 341 troops from the Philippines and 193 from India, said Nesirky. A year ago, UNDOF had more than 1,100 troops, but Japan and Croatia have already pulled out in recent months.
The UN Security Council is to hold talks on the UNDOF crisis later Friday.
Thursday's Golan flare-up prompted Israel to reinforce its military presence on the plateau, Israeli radio said, amid constant fears of the Syria conflict spilling over.
"Fierce fighting continues in Quneitra, including bombardment by regime forces," the Observatory said.
Qusayr's capture gives Assad the upper hand if a US-Russian plan for the first direct peace talks with his opponents materialises, analysts say.
Russia said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem would lead a government delegation at the "Geneva 2" talks which have been delayed largely over opposition disputes about who will attend.
Meanwhile, two journalists working for a French radio channel have gone missing in Syria, with no word from them in 24 hours, their employer Europe 1 said.
They were named as Didier Francois, a seasoned reporter in trouble spots, and photographer Edouard Elias, the radio station said.
Since the start of the uprising at least 24 journalists, including several foreigners, have been killed in Syria, according to Reporters Without Borders watchdog group.
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