Syria’s warring sides brought together for Geneva talks

UN-sponsored peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition are under way in Geneva for the first time in nearly a year.
The two sides will not meet face-to-face to begin with.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s special Syria envoy, said on Wednesday he was “not expecting a breakthrough”.
The opposition is insisting that the fate of President Bashar al-Assad is on the agenda – something the government has refused to discuss.
At least 300,000 people have been killed since the war began in 2011. More than 4.8m have fled the country and a further 6.3m have been displaced inside Syria itself.
While hopes of a breakthrough at the talks are low, much has changed since the last round broke down in April 2016.

 

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