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| U.N. Invites Syrian Parties to Peace Talks and Presents Demands | U.N. Invites Syrian Parties to Peace Talks and Presents Demands |
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| GENEVA — The United Nations invited representatives of the Syrian government and members of opposition groups on Tuesday to political talks in Geneva this week, as its top humanitarian official gave the warring parties a concrete list of demands: Let in food and medicine, stop bombing schools and hospitals. | GENEVA — The United Nations invited representatives of the Syrian government and members of opposition groups on Tuesday to political talks in Geneva this week, as its top humanitarian official gave the warring parties a concrete list of demands: Let in food and medicine, stop bombing schools and hospitals. |
| The office of the United Nations special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, would not say who was invited to the talks, which are scheduled to begin on Friday. The participants who accept will sit in separate rooms and negotiate only through intermediaries ferrying messages back and forth. | The office of the United Nations special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, would not say who was invited to the talks, which are scheduled to begin on Friday. The participants who accept will sit in separate rooms and negotiate only through intermediaries ferrying messages back and forth. |
| The agenda for the talks, aimed at finding a political settlement to the five-year civil war, will include the negotiation of a nationwide cease-fire and access to areas that have been cut off from humanitarian aid for months, in some places years, said Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a special adviser on humanitarian affairs to the United Nations mediation team. | The agenda for the talks, aimed at finding a political settlement to the five-year civil war, will include the negotiation of a nationwide cease-fire and access to areas that have been cut off from humanitarian aid for months, in some places years, said Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a special adviser on humanitarian affairs to the United Nations mediation team. |
| Referring to besieged towns where dozens have died from malnutrition, Yacoub El Hillo, the United Nations humanitarian aid coordinator in Syria, declared, “Enough is enough.” | Referring to besieged towns where dozens have died from malnutrition, Yacoub El Hillo, the United Nations humanitarian aid coordinator in Syria, declared, “Enough is enough.” |
| “Stop attacks on schools, stop attacks on hospitals, stop attacks on medical personnel,” he said at a news conference in Geneva. | “Stop attacks on schools, stop attacks on hospitals, stop attacks on medical personnel,” he said at a news conference in Geneva. |
| “If they cannot agree on these basic things, then I don’t know what else they can agree on,” he added. “If the talks continue and the killings continue, what’s the point?” | “If they cannot agree on these basic things, then I don’t know what else they can agree on,” he added. “If the talks continue and the killings continue, what’s the point?” |
| The expectation for the talks, organized with the participation of the United States and Russia, is that the Syrian parties will agree to stop the fighting that is preventing humanitarian agencies from delivering aid to besieged communities. | The expectation for the talks, organized with the participation of the United States and Russia, is that the Syrian parties will agree to stop the fighting that is preventing humanitarian agencies from delivering aid to besieged communities. |
| The issue will be presented to the parties “not for negotiation, but for acceptance,” Mr. Egeland said. | The issue will be presented to the parties “not for negotiation, but for acceptance,” Mr. Egeland said. |
| It was still unclear on Tuesday who was invited or how many of the parties to the conflict would participate in the talks. | It was still unclear on Tuesday who was invited or how many of the parties to the conflict would participate in the talks. |
| Members of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee, which represents a group of opposition factions, were scheduled to meet Tuesday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to decide whether to accept an invitation to participate. One member of the committee, Asaad al-Zoubi, told the Arabic-language news channel Al Hadath that he was pessimistic. | Members of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee, which represents a group of opposition factions, were scheduled to meet Tuesday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to decide whether to accept an invitation to participate. One member of the committee, Asaad al-Zoubi, told the Arabic-language news channel Al Hadath that he was pessimistic. |
| Secretary of State John Kerry urged the Saudi-backed committee to participate during his visit to Riyadh on Saturday, but members of the committee have demanded an end to bombing by the Syrian government and Russia as a condition for attending the talks. | Secretary of State John Kerry urged the Saudi-backed committee to participate during his visit to Riyadh on Saturday, but members of the committee have demanded an end to bombing by the Syrian government and Russia as a condition for attending the talks. |
| “I really hope that the Russians and Iranians and Americans and Saudi Arabians and the Turkish will be able to make this happen, because I think they have the power to make this happen,” Mr. Egeland said. | |
| On Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that has been monitoring the war, and Syrian state news media reported that more than a dozen people were killed in attacks in the city of Homs. SANA, the state news channel, said that 19 people were killed in an attack on government security forces. The observatory said that two explosions — a car bomb and a suicide attack — killed at least 29 people, including 15 members of government security forces. | On Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that has been monitoring the war, and Syrian state news media reported that more than a dozen people were killed in attacks in the city of Homs. SANA, the state news channel, said that 19 people were killed in an attack on government security forces. The observatory said that two explosions — a car bomb and a suicide attack — killed at least 29 people, including 15 members of government security forces. |
| Leaders of the humanitarian agencies have called the Syrian conflict “the most devastating crisis of the 21st century,” with more than 250,000 killed and half of Syria’s 20 million people forced from their homes. Two-thirds of Syrians live in poverty, and more than four million people are in areas that are hard to reach with humanitarian aid, said Mr. El Hillo, the United Nations aid official. | Leaders of the humanitarian agencies have called the Syrian conflict “the most devastating crisis of the 21st century,” with more than 250,000 killed and half of Syria’s 20 million people forced from their homes. Two-thirds of Syrians live in poverty, and more than four million people are in areas that are hard to reach with humanitarian aid, said Mr. El Hillo, the United Nations aid official. |
| Syria has become one of the world’s most dangerous place for children, Hanaa Singer, the United Nations Children’s Fund representative in Damascus, reported, and deaths from starvation have been reported this month in the besieged town of Madaya. | |
| Schools and hospitals have been targeted in daily attacks. Thirty-five schools have been attacked this year, more than 50,000 teachers have been killed or forced to flee the conflict, and two decades of education stand to be lost, Ms. Singer said. | Schools and hospitals have been targeted in daily attacks. Thirty-five schools have been attacked this year, more than 50,000 teachers have been killed or forced to flee the conflict, and two decades of education stand to be lost, Ms. Singer said. |
| “Today we see more and younger children right on the front line, manning checkpoints, carrying weapons and even taking part in the fighting and executions,” she said. | “Today we see more and younger children right on the front line, manning checkpoints, carrying weapons and even taking part in the fighting and executions,” she said. |
| She added, “There is a real risk a whole generation of children will be lost.” | She added, “There is a real risk a whole generation of children will be lost.” |