The new truce was announced on Friday by the Russian Defence Ministry's Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria. The center also called on the leaders of armed groups operating in Idlib to stop staging provocations and to join the peace process instead.
Fighting in northwestern Syria has intensified over the last several weeks, despite the recent ceasefire agreed during talks in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan in early August. On August 5, the Syrian army launched an offensive, citing the militants’ failure to respect the truce.
Last week, the Syrian army regained control over the city of Khan Sheikhoun, also in Idlib province which remains the last militant stronghold in the country. The province had been under control of the Nusra Front* since 2015.
In early August, a long-discussed truce in Idlib entered into force. However, the leadership of the Syrian Armed Forces said it would stop military actions if Turkey implements its obligations under the Moscow-Ankara deal, which was reached in Sochi, Russia last September.
The truce deal stipulates the withdrawal of medium and heavy weapons from the contact line in the area.
*Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), al-Qaeda are terrorist organisations banned in Russia and many other countries.
