Syria’s Assad says refugees can now return home

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says that people displaced by the war can now return to Syria without facing any restrictions from the government.

Assad told the Spanish daily El Pais that most Syrians fled the country because of the war and not out of fear of his regime.

11 million Syrians have been forced from their homes by the war that started five years ago and more than 250,000 have been killed.

More than 250,000 Syrian refugees, many of them Kurds from Rojava, have sought sanctuary in the Kurdistan Region.

Assad also calls on European countries and the International community to lift their sanctions on Syria, saying the sanctions affect the ordinary people.

He said meanwhile that Turkey "must stop sending terrorists into Syria,"

The Syrian president said that while fighting terrorism, his government will try to restore order in most parts of the country "because this way people will be able to continue living in Syria."

Forces loyal to his regime are making advances in the northern province of Aleppo with help from Russian jets.

Late on Monday Moscow and Washington announced that they have reached an agreement and hostilities in Syria will stop at midnight on Saturday.