Gulf leaders seek united front at annual summit

Riyadh - The leaders are expected to voice support for a bid to unify Syria's opposition at separate talks due to get under way on the same day in Riyadh.

Gulf leaders meet Wednesday for an annual summit in the face of plunging oil revenues, the war in Yemen, pressure for peace in Syria and signs of regional divisions.
The leaders are expected to voice support for a bid to unify Syria's opposition at separate talks due to get under way on the same day in Riyadh.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit also comes days before warring factions from Yemen are to gather in Switzerland in an effort to end  war that has drawn in Gulf nations.
The GCC brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose leaders will hold two days of talks in the Saudi capital.
The summit coincides with Saudi Arabia's hosting - also on Wednesday and Thursday - of talks it hopes could help ease out Syria's President Bashar Al Assad.
About 100 representatives from Syria's fragmented political and armed opposition groups are gathering in Riyadh in an unprecedented bid for unity ahead of potential negotiations with Assad's regime.
The effort precedes peace talks targeted for January 1 under a plan for political transition in Syria. Diplomats from 17 countries including Saudi Arabia agreed on the plan last month.
For more than eight months, Gulf military forces have been fighting in Yemen to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government alongside an array of local anti-rebel forces.
The coalition has been trying to push Houthi rebels and allied troops from territory they occupied in Yemen.
Militants have taken advantage of the chaos to expand their presence.
According to the United Nations envoy to Yemen, another attempt at peace talks will start on December 15, after earlier efforts collapsed.

• Riyadh
• Saudi Arabia