UN envoy hopes to start peace talks Friday

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which groups armed and political opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had taken “a positive view” of the invitation received from U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura on Tuesday, spokesman Salim al-Muslat said.

It is assumed that most of the groups will eventually send representatives due to pressure from the Persian Gulf states funding their operations.

The resolution, which was unanimously adopted in December 2015, demands a ceasefire from all sides, calls for free and fair elections within 18 months and endorses talks between the Syrian government and opposition. “But what we are trying to do is to make absolutely certain that when they start everyone is clear about roles and what’s happening so you don’t go there and wind up with a question mark or a failure”.

Diplomacy has repeatedly failed to resolve the conflict that has killed 250,000 people and forced millions from their homes, spawning a refugee crisis in neighbouring states and Europe.

Khawla Mattar, a spokeswoman for Staffan de Mistura, told The Associated Press in Geneva that the envoy would not make public the numbers and identities of the invitees until his office gets “feedback from the invited parties” – a sign of the delicacy of his task.

Preparations for the talks have been beset by problems including a dispute over who should represent the opposition.

The Sunni Arab opposition say the Kurdish PYD party should be part of the government delegation.

The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, came as government forces retook a strategic town from opposition fighters and militants in the south of the country. “Or, if they aren’t serious, war will continue”.

Russian Federation has sought to expand the opposition delegation to include a powerful Kurdish faction that controls wide areas of northern Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday dismissed Syrian government claims and opposition complaints as posturing ahead of U.N.-led peace talks that are to begin Friday and last six months.

A member of Ahrar al-Sham, one of the biggest insurgent groups, said the intensity of the Russian intervention in the area meant the rebels’ strategy of holding and defending territory had collapsed and fighters would shift to guerrilla tactics. “They (rebels) enter an area, attack and return back”, said Abu Baraa al-Lathkani. The coming target is Idlib, a stronghold of rebel groups including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, said a military source. He warned: “By continuing to support the regime in its bombardment of the moderate opposition, Russian Federation risks damaging the already-fragile process of intra-Syrian negotiations”. They are not preconditions.

Opposition official Asaad al-Zoubi told Arabic news channel Al-Hadath that he was pessimistic, though the final decision would be taken at an opposition meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to sit and talk to anyone without the suffering being lifted first”. Without goodwill steps including the release of detainees, “there will be no negotiations”, he said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group which relies on a network of informants across Syria for its news, said the death toll had climbed to 25, with 15 of the casualties being security personnel.