The Latest: Syrian rebels deny they’ll attend Astana talks

FILE -- This Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 file photo, hundreds of Syrians mingle amid rubble before going out of town to buy food and other essential materials as they wait in line at a military checkpoint in the town of Beit Sahm, south of the capital, Damascus, Syria. A new report by Physicians for Human Rights accuses the Syrian government of "slow-motion slaughter" of unknown numbers of Syrians trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas by willfully denying them food and health care, which it calls a war crime. (AP Photo, File) FILE -- This Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 file photo, hundreds of Syrians mingle amid rubble before going out of town to buy food and other essential materials as they wait in line at a military checkpoint in the town of Beit Sahm, south of the capital, Damascus, Syria. A new report by Physicians for Human Rights accuses the Syrian government of "slow-motion slaughter" of unknown numbers of Syrians trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas by willfully denying them food and health care, which it calls a war crime. (AP Photo, File)

By Associated Press March 15, 2017 2 min read

BEIRUT (AP) – The Latest on the developments in Syria and peace talks that have been extended in Kazakhstan (all times local):

11:20 a.m.

An official from one of Syria’s rebel factions has denied reports that rebels will send representatives to the present round of talks with the Syrian government underway in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Mamoun Haj Mousa, from the Suqour al-Sham Brigade, says there are no plans for factions to attend the talks – contrary to reports by the Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry.

Another opposition official, Yahya al-Aridi, said of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry announcement: “Let them say what they wish.”