Syrian opposition split as peace moves forge ahead

International efforts to end the conflict in Syria accelerated on Monday with key talks in Brussels and Paris, amid a push for a new peace conference despite growing divisions within the Syrian opposition. On the ground, fighting continued for control of the rebel stronghold of Qusayr and state media reported a Syrian state television reporter shot dead covering the fighting. US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his Russian and French counterparts in Paris to advance an initiative for an international conference on ending the more than two-year conflict. The proposed conference has been dubbed "Geneva 2" after a conference last June that produced a peace roadmap which was never implemented. Ahead of the Paris meeting, the 27 EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels, with the bloc deeply divided over whether to arm the rebels. Far-reaching EU sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, including a weapons embargo, expire on Friday. Britain and France want the arms embargo maintained against Assad but relaxed for the opposition. In Istanbul, the key opposition Syrian National Coalition said the EU meeting was "the moment of truth". "People on the inside (in Syria) continue to ask for weapons to protect themselves," Coalition spokesman Khaled al-Saleh told AFP. But British-based charity Oxfam has warned that allowing more weapons into Syria "could have devastating consequences" and "fan the flames of the conflict". The opposition Coalition talks in Turkey were in total disarray, with fractious discussions on their participation in the US-Russian peace initiative stalled. There was squabbling over a vote early on Monday over expanding the opposition umbrella group, although the results formalised the entry into the Coalition of veteran dissident Michel Kilo. The secular Kilo will bring in several women and members of Syria's religious minorities, but critics said his entry increases Saudi control on the coalition. Syria's government said Sunday that it has agreed "in principle" to attend a Geneva conference, terming it a "good opportunity for a political solution". The opposition insists that, after more than two years of devastation which activists say has killed more than 94,000 people, it will not negotiate unless Assad quits. But despite consensus on that demand, and the recognition of dozens of states and organisations, the Coalition has found itself marred by divisions that some members blame on regional bids for influence. The disputes come as opposition fighters battle regime troops backed by members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah for control of the rebel stronghold of Qusayr. Hezbollah's involvement in the fight has stirred international condemnation, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon saying he was "deeply concerned" by the group's role. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday it was in the militant anti-Israeli group's own interest to defend Assad's regime. "I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one" in Syria, he said. But the group's actions have threatened to draw Lebanon ever deeper into Syria's conflict, raising domestic tensions. Hours after Nasrallah's speech, two rockets hit Hezbollah's heartland in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday morning. The attack wounded four Syrians and was the first time the Lebanese capital's mainly Shiite southern suburbs have been targeted during the Syria conflict. In the past week, 31 people have also been killed in clashes in Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli between Assad supporters and opponents. Hezbollah's intervention has given Assad the upper hand in Qusayr, a key town in central Syria for both the regime and the insurgents, where an army assault began eight days ago. As fighting raged in the town on Monday, official Syrian media said state television reporter Yara Abbas has been killed while covering the assault. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 26-year-old was shot by a sniper, and members of her team were also wounded. The watchdog also said on Monday that at least 79 Hezbollah fighters had been killed in Qusayr over the last week, bringing the movement's overall losses in Syria to 141. French newspaper Le Monde reported on Monday that the Syrian army is using chemical weapons against rebels in the outskirts of Damascus, quoting two of its journalists who were there in April and May.