Thousands head home in Idlib

Thousands of residents of Syria's last major rebel bastion Idlib headed home within 48 hours of a deal being announced to avoid a government offensive to retake the province, a war monitor said yesterday.

As air strikes intensified earlier this month, the looming threat of a Russian-backed assault had prompted tens of thousands of civilians to flee areas near the front line.

But many headed home after a deal was reached between Russia and rebel supporter Turkey to create a demilitarised buffer zone along the front line, as the first step in a wider settlement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Around 7,000 people have returned to their towns and villages since the announcement of the deal on Monday, especially in the southeast of Idlib and the north of (neighbouring) Hama," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory.

At a camp for the displaced in the town of Atme on the Turkish border on Tuesday, dozens of Syrians held up banners welcoming the agreement.

One of the demonstrators, Marhaf al-Jadou, said he was tired of running from the shelling and air strikes.

"Enough of being displaced and sitting in tents. We want to return to our homes and our children to their schools," he said.

The United Nations has given cautious backing to the Russian-Turkish agreement.