UPDATE - Syrian armed opposition to attend peace talks in Astana

UPDATES WITH KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT, MORE DETAIL

By Aliia Raimbekova

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AA) - Syria's armed opposition groups have confirmed their attendance at peace talks set to resume in the Kazakh capital Astana later this week, a Kazakh official said Tuesday.

The talks, which will focus on the cease-fire that came into effect on Dec. 30, have been brokered by Turkey -- which backs the Syrian opposition -- and Russia and Iran, who support the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Anuar Zhainakov confirmed that all sides, including the Syrian regime and armed opposition from the northern and southern fronts, are expected to attend the fourth round of negotiations.

Mohamed Alloush will head the opposition delegation while the regime will be represented by Bashar Jaafari.

The Turkish delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Undersecretary Sedat Onal, while Special Envoy Alexander Lavrentiev leads the Russian team and Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari heads the Iranian delegation.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will also attend the talks, according to Zhainakov.

The talks, which had been previously held in January, February and March, will be held Wednesday and Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Astana would also host a technical meeting on Tuesday, ahead of the two-day talks.

Military specialists from the guarantor countries as well as Agnes Marcaillou, the head of the UN Mine Action Service, will attend the technical meeting.

A joint statement is expected to be released at the end of negotiations, the ministry added.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. According to Mistura, around 400,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.