UN Sets Date for Syrian Peace Talks

The U.N. on Saturday said that peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition forces will occur, despite continued violence in Syria. It set a "target date" of January 25 for the talks, which will take place in Geneva. The announcement comes the day after Zahran Alloush, the leader of the rebel group the Army of Islam, which opposes both Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike. “Continuing developments on the ground should not be allowed to derail [the talks],” a U.N. official said. The peace process, if successful, would end the nearly five-year Syrian civil war.