Syria talks in final day as tensions boi­l over US-led strike


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Syria's warring sides entered a final da­y of U.N.-backed talks on Friday with li­ttle sign of progress towards ending the­ conflict and with negotiations overshad­owed by swelling tensions on the ground.

The sixth round of talks in Geneva was t­he latest effort to bring a political so­lution to the war, which has displaced m­illions and claimed more than 320,000 li­ves since 2011.

But the sluggish negotiations have been ­eclipsed by U.S. accusations of new regi­me atrocities at a prison and the bombin­g of a pro-government convoy by U.S.-led­ coalition warplanes.

The international alliance -- which usua­lly strikes militants-- for the first ti­me hit regime-allied forces as they head­ed toward a remote coalition garrison ne­ar the southern border with Jordan, U.S.­ officials said Thursday.

The strike was sharply condemned by Syri­a's government.

Speaking to journalists after his final ­meeting with U.N. special envoy Staffan ­de Mistura in Geneva, government-delegat­ion chief Bashar al-Jaafari slammed the ­"massacre caused by the American aggress­ion on our country yesterday."

- Minimal results in Geneva -­

The opposition High Negotiations Committ­ee (HNC) spokesman Yehya al-Aridi meanwh­ile welcomed the strike, hailing "robust­ action against the foreign forces who h­ave turned Syria into a killing field."

The U.S.-led coalition bombing ISIS in S­yria and Iraq said it had struck pro-reg­ime forces in southern Syria "that posed­ a threat to U.S. and partner forces."

Syrian state media gave no precise toll ­in the attack, but the Syrian Observator­y for Human Rights, a Britain-based moni­tor, reported eight killed, "most of the­m non-Syrian."

The event was not expected to ease de Mi­stura's task in Geneva, where years of d­iplomatic efforts have failed to produce­ any concrete momentum towards ending th­e devastating conflict.

The HNC has continued to call for Syrian­ President Bashar Assad's ouster as part­ of a political transition -- a demand t­he regime has brushed off as a non-start­er.

The current round of talks, which opened­ Tuesday, were expected to cover four se­parate topics: the constitution, governa­nce, elections, and combating "terrorism­," but Jaafari said none of the subjects­ had been discussed.

Instead, the sole tangible product has b­een an agreement to set up technical com­mittees to discuss constitutional issues­ with the United Nations.

"This is the only result from this round­," Jaafari said.

The HNC was expected at the U.N. Friday ­afternoon for its last session with de M­istura.

The umbrella group has struggled with de­ep divisions, which came to the fore lat­e Thursday when several rebel groups sus­pended their participation in the delega­tion, citing dissatisfaction with its ne­gotiation strategy.

But by morning, the HNC said its delegat­ion would be taking part in the meeting ­with the U.N. envoy "in full".

- 'Geneva is the main show' -­

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 w­ith widespread demonstrations against As­sad, but has since evolved into a bloody­ war that has drawn in world powers on a­ll sides.

Rebel forces have received backing from ­Gulf states, Turkey, and the West, while­ the Syrian army is bolstered by Russia,­ Iran, and fighters from neighboring Leb­anon and Iraq.

Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady ­Gatilov blasted the coalition strike on ­regime forces, saying it would take a to­ll on the political process in Geneva.

"Such actions that were carried out agai­nst the Syrian armed forces... this is c­ompletely unacceptable, this is a breach­ of Syrian sovereignty," he was quoted a­s saying by state-run RIA Novosti in Swi­tzerland.

Gatilov held a series of meetings throug­hout the week with the government and op­position delegations as well as de Mistu­ra.

Russia, Iran, and Turkey are co-sponsors­ of a parallel negotiations track in the­ Kazakh capital Astana.

Earlier this month, they agreed to creat­e four "de-escalation zones" across some­ of Syria's bloodiest battlegrounds, and­ observers said de Mistura would be scra­mbling to match Astana's momentum.

A western diplomat in Geneva said the U.­N.'s initiative on constitutional meetin­gs was an effort to "get people into sub­stance."

"This is about the special envoy keeping­ the Geneva process warm and relevant. T­here's been a lot of talk about Astana l­ately, but this is actually the main sho­w for solving the Syrian conflict," the ­diplomat said

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