UN to announce date for Syria talks on Friday

GENEVA

The United Nations on Friday will announce a date for new round of peace talks in Geneva, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday.

De Mistura and Special Advisor Jan Egeland held a news conference at the UN’s Geneva office following a meeting with the members of International Syria Support Group (SSG) Task Force on Humanitarian Access.

The UN envoy said in last two weeks almost 200 trucks of humanitarian aid delivered to 110,000 people in besieged areas in Syria and that the UN had started testing airdrops of food aid to 200,000 people besieged by Daesh terrorists.

The cessation of hostilities would have an impact on reaching people in need of humanitarian aid, de Mistura said.

"Tomorrow is a crucial day," he said, adding that following a UN Security Council meeting in New York, he will announce a date for new round of Syria peace talks.

Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed across the country and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.