Syria opposition to boycott UN peace talks in Geneva
SYRIA's opposition says it will not attend peace talks despite the UN insisting negotiations will begin today.
President Assad's government is ready to start peace talks in Geneva
The talks in Geneva are the first attempt in two years aimed at ending the war which has raged for five years and sparked the refugee crisis gripping Europe.
An opposition council meeting in Riyadh said its delegation would "certainly" not be in Geneva today, saying it had not received convincing answers to its demands for goodwill steps including an end to air strikes and blockades.
Another opposition representative from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said the delegation might turn up if their demands were met in a day or two, but the chances of that appeared vanishingly slim.
For certain we will not head to Geneva
Yesterday, HNC member and leader of opposition group the Syrian National Council, George Sabra, said: "For certain we will not head to Geneva and there will not be a delegation from the High Negotiations Committee tomorrow in Geneva."
The Syrian government said it is ready to attend the negotiations, which UN envoy Staffan de Mistura plans to hold in an indirect format.
RAF Tornado attacks on Daesh cranes in Syria using Brimstone missiles
A fighter of Syrian pro-government forces walks past damaged buildings
Fighting continues in Syria
11 million people have been forced from their homes during the conflict which has seen forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's rule and government loyalists fighting each other and Islamic State (ISIS).
It's believed Mr Assad's government is clawing back territory from rebels with military help from Iran and Russia.
Opposition leader George Sabra has pulled out of peace talks
11 million people have fled Syria during the conflict
The turn of events is a bitter blow to Mr De Mistura, who sent a video message to the Syrian people warning talks "cannot fail".
Before agreeing to talks, the HNC had been seeking UN guarantees of steps including a halt to attacks on civilian areas, prisoners being released and blockades lifted.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing for peace talks to start
The talks were due to start on Monday but the UN has pushed them back to today to allow more time to resolve problems including a dispute over which groups should be invited to negotiate with the government.
The United States, whose Secretary of State John Kerry is among those pushing for negotiations to start today, urged the opposition to seize the "historic opportunity" and enter talks without preconditions to end the war.