20 people killed in Syrian air raid; US and Russia agree to prepare for peace talks

Syrian government warplanes bombed a predominantly Sunni village and killed at least 20 people, opposition activists said Saturday, as government forces pushed to retake territory in the western heartland of President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect.                  

The rebel capture last week of 11 villages in the regime stronghold of Latakia province was a symbolic blow to Assad, whose troops have otherwise been making gains in central Syria and around the capital Damascus.               

The group reported heavy clashes between troops and rebels in the surrounding Jabal al-Akrad mountains on Saturday. It had no reports of casualties in the fighting.            

The state media said that government troops recaptured three of the 11 villages. Activists confirmed the fall of one village but said fighting was continuing in the other two.                     

Most of Latakia province has been tight government control and comparatively peaceful during the conflict, now in its third year. But earlier this week rebels including foreign fighters swept through a string of villages, sending civilians fleeing their homes. At least 60 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the rebel offensive, activists said. They say another 400 civilians, mostly Alawites, are missing and are presumed to be in rebel custody in the area.             

The activists spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.               

Russia & US:

US and Russian officials agreed on Friday on the need to convene a long-delayed Syrian peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible, but they offered no concrete plan to bring the warring government and rebels to the table.                       

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after five hours of political and security meetings in Washington that officials from the two countries will meet again by the end of the month to prepare for the Syria talks.                        

He said much of his meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry was devoted to Syria and both men agreed they needed to convene a so-called Geneva 2 conference "as soon as possible."                            
A US official briefing reporters after the talks, which also included Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, said Washington was working closely with the Syrian opposition but the onus was on Damascus.                 

Moscow and Washington have been trying since May to organize an international peace conference to bring an end to the violence in Syria that has killed some 100,000 people in two years. But hopes that it can take place soon are fading quickly.           


REUTERS/AP