AMMAN - International powers will search for a peaceful settlement to Syria's civil war with fresh urgency at an Istanbul meeting after a rebel faction aligned itself with al-Qaida, diplomats and opposition sources said on Sunday.Saturday's meeting of 11 countries from the Friends of Syria alliance will come after the al-Nusra Front, among the strongest formations seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, pledged allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri on April 10."We will be meeting under the shadow of the advances of Nusra and other militants. The recent al-Qaida statements have injected a new urgency for the international community to push to end the conflict," said an official who will attend the meeting on the conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)