U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (R) and Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrive to a hotel surrounded by security, Oct. 28, 2013 in Damascus, Syria. ​​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 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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Some information for this report was provided by Reuters. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: War and Conflict