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                     UN Envoy in Damascus to Push for Peace

   The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria is in Damascus, his latest stop on
   a regional tour aimed at building support for peace talks.
   Lakhdar Brahimi met Monday with Syria`s deputy foreign minister, Faisal
   al Miqdad. It is the first time Brahimi has been in Syria in almost a
   year.
   On Sunday, several jihadist groups fighting in Syria slammed the idea
   of new peace talks. The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition has
   also expressed reservations about the proposed talks, saying it will
   not attend unless the talks result in the ouster of Syrian President
   Bashar al-Assad.
   Russia, the United States and other Western powers have been pushing
   for a new round of talks in Geneva in mid-to-late November.
   The "Geneva Two" conference would seek to establish a transitional
   government to run Syria and prepare it for democratic elections.
   During a stop in Tehran on Saturday, Brahimi said Iran should be
   invited to the proposed peace talks, saying it was both "natural and
   necessary."
   Iran has been a key ally of Mr. Assad during his country`s civil war.
   Meanwhile, fighting in Syria rages on. State-run media Monday said
   government forces retook a Christian town north of Damascus. Parts of
   the town of Sadad had recently been captured by jihadist forces.
   The conflict in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced
   millions more since it began in March 2011.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-envoy-in-damascus-to-push-for-peac
   e/1778357.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-envoy-in-damascus-to-push-for-peace/1778357.html