AGENCIES: Russia has announced a unilateral ceasefire in northwestern Syria, where Moscow-backed government forces have been waging a fierce offensive to capture the rebels’ last major stronghold, from Saturday morning.

The announcement came on Friday as displaced Syrian civilians tried to push through a border crossing to enter neighboring Turkey, amid an increasingly deteriorating situation in Idlib province

The United Nations has warned that the military push risks further fallout for the three million residents of the province, half of whom are already internally displaced from areas previously captured by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. More than half a million civilians have been uprooted since the offensive began in late April, according to the UN, with over 500 people killed.

Russia, which intervened in Syria’s long-running conflict four years ago to back al-Assad, said on Friday that an agreement had been reached on “a unilateral ceasefire by Syrian government forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone, from 6 am on August 31”.

The ceasefire aimed “to stabilize the situation” in Idlib, the statement said, urging anti-government fighters to “abandon armed provocations and join the peace process”, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said in a statement. However, there was no immediate response from rebel groups.

(Agencies)