Syria rebels vow to keep fighting if Astana talks fail

Syrian rebels vowed Monday to keep fighting if the peace talks fail with the war-torn country's government in Kazakhstan, as the two sides opened indirect negotiations. The talks had been billed as the first time armed rebel groups would negotiate directly with President Bashar al-Assad's regime since the conflict erupted in 2011. "If the negotiations succeed, then we are with the negotiations," rebel spokesman Osama Abu Zeid told AFP.