Syria peace conference in Geneva to start Jan. 22 in Swiss city of Montreux.

GENEVA – The United Nations says the opening of a Syria peace conference planned for next month has been moved from Geneva to the Swiss city of Montreux.

Khawla Mattar, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, says the conference will open on Jan. 22 in the Montreux Palace.

Mattar told reporters Tuesday that the move to Montreux, home of the famous jazz festival, was necessary because a luxury watch fair has taken up all the hotel rooms in Geneva.

She says foreign ministers will speak on the first day, then the conference will break up and reconvene on Jan. 24 at the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva.

The Syrian civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and sent millions of refugees fleeing the country.