Nearly 700 people have been killed in nine days of fierce clashes between an al Qaeda affiliate and other Islamist and rebel groups , activists said Sunday . Forces from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have increasingly come into conflict with Free Syrian Army fighters and other hard-line factions opposing the Syrian regime , while ISIS attempts to impose its strict form of Islamic Sharia law on areas coming under its control in northern Syria . In the last nine days , 697 people have been killed in the fighting , activists said . The victims include 351 combatants from the Islamist and non-Islamist rebel battalions , 246 ISIS fighters , and 100 civilians , the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said . The activist group said the deaths took place between January 3 and January 12 . Among the 100 civilians killed in the clashes , 21 were executed by ISIS in the children 's hospital in Qadi Askar in the northern rebel stronghold of Aleppo , the group said . CNN can not independently verify daily death tolls , but the United Nations has said more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since 2011 . Foreign ministers meet . The violence came as the `` Friends of Syria '' group of foreign ministers , including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry , convened in Paris on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the Syrian opposition to attend a peace conference in Geneva , Switzerland , at the end of January . The Western-backed rebels are deeply divided on whether to go and will announce a decision on January 17 . `` There is no military solution to the violence , '' Kerry said Sunday about a proposed new round of peace talks . `` There is no other alternative to saving the nation of Syria than negotiations . '' Kerry said he has `` no expectations '' about the success of the so-called Geneva II talks , but that the sides need to enter the meetings with the goal of `` waging an even stronger effort to provide for this political solution . '' `` I am confident the Syrian opposition will come to Geneva , '' Kerry said . Kerry added that Russian leaders have assured him they 'll attend . In a statement , the alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries called on armed groups to `` respect democratic and pluralistic values '' and allow humanitarian access . It condemned the presence of foreign fighters in Syria , `` both those fighting with the regime such as Hezbollah and other Iranian backed forces , and those fighting within other extremist groups , '' and demanded their immediate withdrawal . It urged democratic opposition forces to keep opposing groups affiliated with al Qaeda . `` We fully support the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army and other democratic opposition forces in their action against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , '' it said . The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is another name for ISIS . Uneasy alliance . For months , the rebel groups maintained an uneasy alliance as they fought to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 's government . But now , the infighting has threatened to tip the balance among rebel forces toward militant groups and away from more secular brigades . In a statement , the opposition Syrian Coalition media office condemned `` any and all violations '' and said armed gangs were taking advantage of the infighting between ISIS and the Free Syrian Army . The statement , signed by Syrian Coalition media office director Khalid Saleh , cited these as `` illegal practices , intimidating civilians , and theft , taking place all over Syria ; particularly in the northern parts of the country . '' `` We call on FSA brigades to work with civil revolutionary bodies and local councils operating in those areas to address the threat of those gangs , and make sure those gangsters are hunted down and brought to justice , '' the statement said . In Iraq , where at least nine people were killed and more than 40 wounded in several car explosions on Sunday , security forces in Mosul said they have detained 137 ISIS suspects in a series of raids in the city over the past seven days . U.N. official in Damascus . On a visit to Damascus on Sunday , the United Nations humanitarian chief expressed concern for communities cut off by the months of fighting between government and rebel forces . `` I am particularly worried about the reports of starvation , '' Valerie Amos said in a statement after meeting with government officials as well as humanitarian organizations . `` The world must do more for all the people who are displaced . Many families are living in abandoned buildings , schools or in makeshift shelters , without enough food , clean water or medicine . We must help them to get through this very cold winter , '' she said after visiting a shelter in rural Damascus . Amos recognized steps taken by the government to approve visas so aid can get in . `` But we need to do more in a crisis of this magnitude , '' she said .
Kerry says he 's confident Syrian opposition will attend Paris talks . U.N humanitarian chief visits Damascus , expresses concern for displaced persons . Syria agrees to allow U.N. inspectors into country and allows access by journalists. Al Qaeda-affiliated ISIS forces battling Free Syrian Army fighters , other factions .