Spotlight on Syria as world leaders gather at United Nations

A civil defence member carries an injured girl at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria

Damascus: The spotlight will be on Syria when world leaders gather at the United Nations next week as the United States and Russia try to shore up a fragile truce deal and President Barack Obama pushes for a boost in global refugee aid.

Some 135 heads of state and government and dozens of ministers will attend the 71st General Assembly, the last for both Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will step down at the end of 2016 after a decade in the job.