'Syria peace talks a complete failure'

The first Syria peace talks for two years were a "complete failure" before they started yesterday, a Western diplomat said, after the United Nations announced it would press ahead with them despite an opposition boycott.

Opponents of President Bashar al-Assad said they were far more concerned with fending off a Russian-backed military onslaught, with civilians reported to be fleeing as the Syrian army and allied militia tried to capture a suburb of Damascus and finish off rebels defending it.

But so far the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has refused to attend, insisting it wanted an end to air strikes and sieges of towns before talks can start. The boycott defies Washington, which has urged the opposition to take up the "historic opportunity" for the talks, without preconditions.

A UN statement said UN envoy Staffan de Mistura would open the talks as scheduled by meeting the government delegation headed by Syria's ambassador to the United Nations. Meetings with "other participants" would take place "subsequently" it said, without giving details.

"It is a complete failure," said a Western diplomat, on condition of anonymity, describing the event as a boon for Assad's government.

On Thursday the opposition HNC said it would not attend the start of talks on Friday because it had not received convincing answers over its demand for goodwill steps such as a ceasefire.

International diplomacy has so far seen only failures in a 5-year-old multi-sided ethno-sectarian civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million from their homes while drawing in regional states and global powers.

Meanwhile, The Netherlands yesterday said it will broaden its role in the US-led coalition against Islamic State to include the bombing of IS targets in Syria. A Dutch squadron of six F-16 fighter jets is already stationed in the region, but was hitherto limited to striking Islamic State positions in Iraq.