Syrian opposition to attend Geneva II peace conference

Syria's main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), announced here it would attend the Geneva II peace conference after holding a secret vote on its participation on Saturday. SNC spokesperson Sarah Karkour said 58 out of the 75 members voted in favor of the bloc's presence at the peace talks, 14 voted against it, two abstained and one cast a blank ballot. The Istanbul-based Syrian opposition umbrella group will hold a press conference at a hotel about 90 km west of the Turkish coastal city at 9:00 p.m. Saturday local time (0700 GMT Saturday), Karkour said. The UN-backed peace conference, slated to open on Jan. 22, is set to bring together representatives of both the Syrian government and the Western-backed opposition for the first time since their armed conflict began almost three years ago. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the landmark conference would be "a mission of hope", adding it was " unforgivable not to seize this opportunity" to end a conflict that had left more than 130,000 people dead and millions more displaced.