SYRIA’S OPPOSITION FACTIONS BEGIN TALKS
BEIRUT • Syria’s deeply divided opposition began talks on Wednesday in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh aimed at forging a united front ahead of possible peace negotiations with the government of President Bashar Assad early next year.
The gathering represents the most ambitious effort yet to bring together Syria’s fractured opposition, which spans the spectrum from moderate Assad foes to Salafist rebels who want to replace the regime with an Islamic government.
All previous attempts to unite the opposition have failed, and it is unclear whether this effort will succeed, given the vast differences among the factions.
The Riyadh talks have gained new urgency, however, as the international community intensifies efforts to end the four-year-old conflict in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and Russia’s ongoing intervention in Syria.
For the first time, rival world powers backing the various factions operating in Syria have rallied around the broad outlines of a diplomatic settlement, though many details have yet to be worked out, including the fate of Assad.
Under a plan put forward by the 17-nation International Syria Support Group, including the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Syrian government and the opposition are scheduled to hold talks early next year on ways to secure a ceasefire and establish a transitional government.
The talks come as hundreds of Syrian civilians and rebels began pulling out of the last opposition-held neighbourhood of the city of Homs on Wednesday as part of a local deal with government forces that would return the entire central city to government control.
A few thousand insurgents have been holed up in Waer district, which government forces had blockaded for nearly three years, only sporadically allowing in food.
The governor of Homs, Talal Barazzi, told The Associated Press on the outskirts of Waer that 272 gunmen and 447 civilians left the district on Wednesday in an evacuation process that was presided over by the United Nations.
Once the evacuation is completed, the city of Homs will fully return to government control.
The deal is similar to one struck in May 2014 in Homs’ Old City. There, the government assumed control of the quarter after about 2,000 rebels were granted safe passage to opposition areas north of Homs. The area was destroyed and thousands of civilians were killed or forced to flee.
ALL PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO UNITE THE OPPOSITION HAVE FAILED.