A total of 135 people were killed in the first week of a partial truce in Syria in areas covered by the deal, a monitoring group said on Saturday, highlighting its fragile nature just days before the United Nations attempts to reconvene peace talks.<br />U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said the talks, originally due to begin on Monday in Geneva, would get off to a staggered start later in the week, with delegates arriving from Wednesday onward.<br />The U.N. said the delay was due to "logistical and technical reasons and also for the ceasefire to better settle down".<br />"I see us beginning on (Thursday) March 10 when we will launch the process," de Mistura said in an interview with pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat.<br />The partial truce, drawn up by Washington and Moscow, came into force a week ago and has slowed the pace of the war, although it does not include Islamic State militants or the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
