Chief Syrian opposition negotiator resigns over stalled peace talks

The Syrian opposition's chief negotiator, Mohammed Alloush, announced his resignation on Sunday over the failure of the Geneva negotiations and the continued shelling of rebel-held areas by President Bashar al-Assad's government.

"The three rounds of talks were unsuccessful because of the stubbornness of the regime and its continued bombardments and aggression towards the Syrian people," Alloush, a member of the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, said in a statement on Twitter.

"I therefore announce my withdrawal from the delegation and my resignation."

Alloush told Al-Jazeera: "The International community needs to put serious pressure on Russia and Assad to stop the killing of our people."

The peace talks aim to reach a settlement to end the five-year war that has left more than 280,000 dead and driven millions from their homes.

Two weeks of UN-brokered talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Geneva ended on 27 April with no breakthrough, as fighting flared on the ground.

A new round of talks had been expected for the end of May, but no new date has been announced.

The UN's peace envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday said he had no plans to convene a new round in the next two or three weeks.

Diplomats have said there was little chance that the opposition would take part in a new round of peace talks if violence was raging and no aid was reaching civilians.

A shaky ceasefire agreed in February between the government and some rebels to boost the peace talks has been repeatedly violated.