71 killed in bombings near Syria Shia shrine

Army of Islam official Mohammed Alloush, gets in to a vehicle heading to a meeting with the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee, in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016.

The extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, south of Damascus near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, a beloved place of worship, a haven for displaced Syrians and a crucial symbol that leaders have used to motivate pro-government Shiite militias.

Other opposition groups have insisted it is unacceptable for the opposition delegation at the Geneva talks to be led by a member of an armed group.

Moscow continues to oppose the participation of Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham groups, which are considered terrorist organizations by Russian Federation, in the Geneva talks.

Geneva //The UN special envoy for Syria said yesterday that talks on ending the civil war have now officially started, following his first formal meeting with the main opposition umbrella group in Geneva.

Two earlier rounds of peace talks have yielded no lasting ceasefire.

De Mistura will try to convince the sides to maintain restraint as much as possible.

“Absolutely, this is part of the agenda that we agreed upon and that will be one of the very important topics we will discuss among ourselves as Syrian citizens”, Jaafari said. But on Sunday the HNC relaxed its stance, and the United Nations mediator said he’s still “optimistic and determined” that the talks will proceed.

“We only came to Geneva after written commitments on the fact that there would be serious progress on the humanitarian issues”, HNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told reporters on Sunday.

Speaking Tuesday after a meeting with the envoy, Syria’s United Nations ambassador Bashar Ja’afari the head of the government delegation branded the opposition as “amateurs” and said it was unclear how many delegations it would send.

The HNC is also demanding the release of prisoners, in line with a UN Security Council resolution approved in December. He had previously met with a government delegation on Friday.

Mattar said the Monday morning meeting would be rescheduled because de Mistura wanted to hold an official meeting with the opposition before launching the indirect talks.

The British-based Observatory, which monitors the war using contacts on the ground, said the attack had targeted a military bus carrying Shi’ite militiamen who were changing guard, and that 42 of the dead were fighters allied to the government.

At least 16 people have died of starvation in the city of Madaya in recent weeks, said the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders.