Fresh Syria peace talks to start in a month: UN envoy

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK (AA) - An eighth round of Syrian peace talks is expected to be launched in a month, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday.

The negotiations will kick off no later than early November, de Mistura told a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

A seventh round in July and a sixth in May ended without any breakthroughs in the almost six-and-a-half-year conflict.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and in excess of 10 million displaced, according to the UN.