Syria's largest opposition group says it will attend UN peace talks in Switzerland, but it won't negotiate directly with the Assad Government.

The development comes as aid workers report that 16 more people have starved to death in the city of Madaya.

Previously the group known as the HNC had refused to join discussions before a deal was made on aid for besieged towns.

This is the biggest diplomatic effort to date to end Syria's almost five-year civil war.

Jane-Anne Mc Kenna, Director of Médecins Sans Frontières Ireland, says people there are continuing to die of starvation: