U.N. Kicks off New Syria Talks in Geneva, Hopes Opposition Fighters Will Attend

The U.N. launched wide-ranging consultations in Geneva this week with domestic and regional players, including Iran, in a bid to revive stalled talks to end the Syrian conflict. For the first time, it said it hoped Syria’s armed opposition groups might be involved, Reuters reports.

Following the failure of U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and opposition representatives last year, the U.N.’s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is planning to hold individual meetings with more than 40 groups over the next six to eight weeks, and possibly longer.

Iran, a key ally of the Syrian regime, has been invited to the talks despite being excluded from the previous Geneva I and Geneva II peace negotiations.

Jihadist militant groups such as the Islamic State and Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra have not been invited, although groups in contact with both are on the list of invitees.

None of the different groups will meet any of the others. Instead, “a broad spectrum of youth, political and military actors, women, victims, civil society, diaspora, religious and community leaders and more,” as well as 20 countries will participate in one-on-one meetings with the special envoy.

De Mistura described it as a stock-taking process, saying there would be no big roundtable discussions and that his goal was to find a way to “operationalize” the Geneva Communiqué, a document that set out a plan for a political transition in Syria but left unresolved the future role of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. “These are not yet peace talks,” de Mistura told a news conference, describing the meetings as low-key consultations.

Hezbollah Vows to Attack Jabhat al-Nusra Militants ‘Inside Syria’

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his militant group would launch an attack inside Syria against members of Jabhat al-Nusra, but declined to say when the assault might happen, the BBC reports.

Nasrallah said in a televised speech late on Tuesday that his group will attack militants in Qalamoun, a strategic area within Syria that straddles the Syria–Lebanon border.

“Most of the border region was recaptured from al-Nusra Front and Islamic State forces last year after a major assault by Syrian government troops, backed by Hezbollah fighters,” the BBC writes.

However, jihadist militants entrenched there have continued to launch offensives inside Lebanon, including an attack in August 2014 in which fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State group briefly seized the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal and kidnapped several dozen members of the Lebanese security forces.

“They have since executed four of them and al-Nusra on Tuesday released a video showing some of the remaining 25 hostages warning they would pay the price of any operation in Qalamoun,” the BBC reports.

Nasrallah said that cross-border attacks by militants from Jabhat al-Nusra posed an unacceptable threat to Lebanon’s security and required “radical treatment.”

“The (Lebanese) state is not able to address this issue … so we will proceed with the necessary treatment and assume the responsibility and consequences,” Nasrallah said.

He declined to say when the operation would begin, adding, “Even when we start, we will not issue a statement. When we begin, the operation will speak for itself.”

Nasrallah also said that his group would continue fighting in Syria along with President Assad’s forces, claiming that the rebel seizure of the province of Idlib did not mean the regime’s opponents have won the war.

“I tell our dear people in Syria that we were with you and will continue to be by your side – no matter what the developments are,” Nasrallah said. “We will be where we are supposed to be.”

Hezbollah, an ally of President Assad, has sent hundreds of fighters into Syria to assist government forces.

The news comes amid reports that Hezbollah fighters captured a Syrian village on Tuesday near the border with Lebanon following intense clashes with Islamic militants.

According to Hezbollah’s al-Manar television station, members of the group captured the village of Hasina on the Syrian side of the border.

Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, claimed that fighting between Hezbollah and jihadi militants is concentrated near the jihadi-held Moussa Hill, a strategic mountain overlooking wide areas of Qalamoun.

Fighting from Syria frequently spills over into neighboring Lebanon, now home to more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees.

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Photo Courtesy of AP Images