Turkey says ceasefire will be implemented in Syria’s Idlib on 12th

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that it had agreed with Russia that a ceasefire will be implemented on Sunday in northwestern Syria’s Idlib region to stem the flow of civilians uprooted by the violence.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled attacks in Idlib province toward the Turkish border in recent weeks, as towns and villages have been pounded by Russian jets and Syrian artillery since a renewed government assault last month.

Turkey’s defense ministry said attacks by air and land would halt at one minute past midnight on Jan. 12 under the ceasefire, which Ankara has been seeking for several weeks. The announcement came a day after a Russian defense ministry official was quoted as saying that a ceasefire had already been implemented at 1100 GMT on Thursday, in line with agreements with Turkey. Some 3.6 million Syrians have sought shelter in Turkey from their country’s nearly nine year-old civil war. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey cannot carry the burden of more refugees from Idlib, where up to 3 million people live.

Many Syrians still in Idlib are completely dependent on cross-border aid, according to the United Nations, but a six-year-long United Nations operation delivering supplies will expire at midnight on Friday if a deadlocked United Nations Security Council cannot reach a last-minute deal to extend its authorization.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to recapture Idlib, the last rebel-held swathe of territory. Turkey has for years backed Syrian rebels fighting to oust Assad.

Displaced Syrians appeal for support ahead of UN aid vote: Displaced Syrians spending the winter out in the open and non-governmental organisations have appealed for international support ahead of a decisive UN Security Council vote on cross-border aid.

The UN Security Council was to vote Friday on extending humanitarian aid to Syria, including to some of the most needy in the northwestern region of Idlib, with Damascus regime ally Russia pushing instead for a reduction. Authorisation for the aid, which enters the country without the formal permission of Damascus, has been in place since 2014 and was to expire on the day of the vote. Four million Syrians directly benefit from the cross-border aid shipments.