Syrian government forces will soon begin a unilateral cease-fire in northwestern Idlib province, Russia’s military said Friday, as hundreds of protesters were met with tear gas marching toward a border crossing with Turkey demanding that Ankara either open the border for refugees or work on stopping the Syrian army’s advance. The protest and cease-fire announcement came after weeks of a crushing offensive by Syrian troops on the last remaining rebel stronghold, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee, many of whom were already without shelter. Syrian troops have been on the offensive since April 30 against rebel-held areas forcing more than half a million people to flee, many of them toward the border with Turkey farther north.
