Fatah urges national talks to end Syria conflict

Fatah's armed wing the Al-Aqsa Brigades Tuesday called for Syrian dialogue to bring an end to the conflict, a statement read. "Anyone with honor in the Islamic and Arab world (must) stop the bloodshed in Syria," the brigade said. Bringing an end to the 15-month civil war in Syria can only be achieved through national talks, the Al-Aqsa Brigades said. The Al-Aqsa Brigades said it maintained "good strategic and strong ties" with Hezbollah, which has been helping Bashar al-Assad's troops fight back rebels. The statement said the brigades had received assurances from Hezbollah that the Shiite movement would "always keep an eye on the Al-Aqsa Mosque," in East Jerusalem, warning against a "Zionist-US plan" to Judaize the mosque. "We call on the entire world to revolt against the Israeli-US plans and and the Islamic world not to be lost and stay awake," the statement read. The conflict in Syria topped the agenda of the G8 summit held in Northern Ireland this week, with global leaders seeking to finalize a peace conference for later this year. But US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart have yet to reach a consensus, AFP reported Tuesday. Washington and Moscow have so far failed to bring Syrian rebels and Bashar al-Assad's forces to peace talks in Geneva.