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October 18, 2013

Syrian Official Says Peace Talks Possible Next Month; Rebels Kill Top General 
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A Syrian government official says international talks to resolve the
conflict in Syria could open in Geneva in late November. Qadri Jamil, a
deputy prime minister in Syria, is the first official to mention a
possible date for the talks. Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has appointed Sigrid Kaag, a Dutch expert on the Middle East, to lead
the team charged with destroying Syria's chemical arsenal under a deal
to avert U.S. military strikes. The Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week,
says its inspectors have made progress in visiting sites and destroying
key equipment. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told NPR the weapons
should be relocated.

John Kerry: "The fact is that these weapons can be removed, whether
Assad is there or not there, because we know the locations. Locations
have been declared. Locations are being secured. And my hope is that
much of this material will be moved as rapidly possible into one
location, and hopefully on a ship, and removed from the region."

Syrian rebels meanwhile have reportedly shot dead a top general in an
eastern province. General Jamea Jamea was the military intelligence
chief in the province of Deir ez-Zor.

 

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