Turkey, Russia agree to Syrian cease-fire

A truce went into effect at midnight on Thursday amid escalated fighting in northwestern Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to create a security corridor along a major highway and conduct joint patrols beginning March 15. They also plan to help more than 900,000 people displaced by the fighting to return home.

Why did the fighting flare up again? Tensions between Turkey and the Russian-backed Syrian army worsened last week after an airstrike killed 33 Turkish soldiers. The violence has sent refugees pouring into Turkey, which already has about 3.5 million Syrian refugees. Turkey opened its border to Greece last week to alleviate the burden of caring for so many migrants and to pressure the European Union to intervene.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report in Globe Trot on the millions of Syrian refugees affected by the fighting.