UN-sponsored Syria talks resume in Geneva after 10 months

The talks in the Swiss capital began as Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces seized the center of the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab, breaking a weeks-long deadlock between the two sides at the periphery of the town in northern Syria, according to Turkey’s state news agency and Syrian opposition activists.

The seizure of al-Bab after a protracted, bloody fight that leveled large parts of the city brings Ankara closer to its stated goal for its months-long operation in Syria:

The Geneva talks, which exclude extremist groups like the Islamic State group, are the latest bid to end Syria’s catastrophic six-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced another 11 million.

U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura convened separate meetings with representatives of the government and opposition delegations Thursday morning.