UN envoy in Turkey for talks on Syria conflict
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E-mail Xinhua, December 9, 2014
The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is in Turkey as part of regional consultations on bringing an end to the four-year crisis in Syria, a UN spokesman told reporters Monday.
"While in Turkey, he met with a delegation of the Syria National Coalition, headed by Hadi Al-Bahra, the president of the coalition," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing. "During the meeting, Mr. de Mistura exchanged views on the proposed freeze in Aleppo and how to make it operational on the ground."
The UN envoy also met separately with Feridum Sinirliglu, the undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. "Mr. de Mistura is traveling today to Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, to discuss his plan with key rebel groups from Aleppo," Dujarric added.
The UN envoy's plan, first presented to the UN Security Council on Oct. 30, would initially seek to halt the fighting and create an environment whereby humanitarian aid could reach the beleaguered population in Aleppo. It would also provide visible proof that the on-the-ground narrative can be shifted from a military one to a political one.
The conflict in Syria, which broke out in March 2011, has led to well over 150,000 deaths, and more than 680,000 people have been injured. At least 10.8 million people are in need of assistance inside Syria, including some 6.5 million who are internally displaced.
The violence has also spawned a refugee crisis flooding neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, which amounts to some 2.5 million people.
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