SYRIA: PEACE CONFERENCE HOLDS IN JANUARY 2014 by Benson Agoha

* Destruction in Syria.

An international conference on the Syrian civil will be held in Wednesday 22nd January 2014.

According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, the conference will be convened in Geneva, Switzerland to brainstorm or ways to restore peace to the war torn middle eastern nation.

The conference is expected to attract the Asad Government, which has been locked in a bitter war with the rebel groups and their opposition counterparts, to a negotiating table for the first time. The Syrian conflict has claimed an estimated 120,000 lives and millions displaced.

According to latest statement on the page of Secretary General, "The Secretary-General is pleased to announce that he will convene the Geneva conference on Syria in Geneva on Wednesday, January 22, thus bringing the Syrian Government and opposition to a negotiating table for the first time since the start of the Syrian conflict."

The Secretary General said the goal will be the full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, as well as the establishment, of a transitional governing body `with full executive powers, including over military and security entities'.

"The conflict in Syria has raged for too long. It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused." the statement said.

The statement adds to another positive news to come out of the Middle East, as a new deal on Iran's Nuclear programme, which prohibits the country from enriching uranium beyond 5% and allowing UN inspectors daily access to its nuclear plants, in exchange for considerable monetary aid, points to a region desirous of peace.

The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague MP, said that the Iran deal means "elements of Iran’s nuclear programme thought to present greatest risk can’t make progress during 6-months".

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