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Amateur video shows continued Syria fighting as sides prep for peace talks

by Reuters

This is the moment before a barrel bomb supposedly falls out of the Syrian sky.

The video purports to show an area near the capital Damascus.

In Syria's second city, Aleppo, barrel bombs - containers packed with TNT and hurled out of aircraft -- were also reportedly used.

Although Reuters can't verify either video, obtained from opposition websites.

As fighting continues in Syria's protracted war, diplomats and opposition figures gathered in Paris on Sunday for an end to the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was there.

He met with the Arab League to review crucial peace talks, scheduled to begin in Geneva this month.

SOUNDBITE: U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY

"We believe that it is possibly for the regime to put in place -- before Geneva -- a cease fire, local cease fires if necessary, a cease fire with respect to Aleppo, and send the signal that they are prepared to the set a different mood, a different climate, a different stage for the possibility of success in Geneva. They have the power to do that."

But prospects for peace are dim.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad, seen here on Sunday, has had recent military gains.

The rebels opposed to him are increasingly fragmented and he faces little pressure to give concessions.

And then there's this.

In the northeast, the opposition is fighting rival rebels affiliated with Al Qaeda.

Video Reuters can't verify purports to show civilian casualties on Sunday at the hands of those Islamist rebels.

They reportedly included the elderly and children.

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