Expectations pretty low

Negotiations aimed at finding a political solution to the war in Syria are set to begin at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva today as a nationwide ceasefire steadily falls apart and UN officials soften their expectations on achieving any major breakthroughs.

The intra-Syrian talks - which will bring together representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, along with their respective international backers - will resume after UN envoy Staffan de Mistura broke them off nine months ago as several rounds of meetings ultimately led to an escalation of violence across the country.

The talks are part of the latest initiative to bring an end to a destructive six-year war that has killed nearly half a million people, injured more than a million, and displaced over 12 million. They come on the heels of multilateral meetings in the Kazakh capital of Astana aimed at consolidating a shaky nationwide truce and paving the way towards political negotiations.

But the ceasefire has steadily fallen apart and an all-out fighting has returned to key areas across the country, reported Al Jazeera.

Over the weekend, de Mistura evaded questions from reporters as to why he has shied away from using the phrase "political transition".

De Mistura instead said he remained focused on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, a document that mentions the word transition several times but uses vague language too broadly focus on three key issues: governance, a new constitution and new elections.

Meanwhile, Turkey said yesterday fewer than 100 Islamic State jihadists were still holed up in a flashpoint Syrian town which has seen the bloodiest clashes of Ankara's half-year campaign inside the conflict-torn country, reported AFP.

Speaking to NTV television, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said half of the town of Al-Bab was in the hands of Turkish troops and allied pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, after the government repeatedly said it was "largely under control".