Peace talks to carve a path out of Syria’s civil war got off to a rocky start yesterday as a bitter clash over Bashar Assad’s future threatened to collapse negotiations even before they had begun.

The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group has said it intends to join peace talks with the Syrian government if conditions are met.

French President Francois Hollande says his country can go ahead with plans to strike Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons despite the British parliament’s failure to endorse military action.

France’s foreign minister says the international community may have to use force if it is proven that Syria used chemical weapons in an attack the opposition says killed more than 100 people.