In the other ongoing crisis that bears watching - a little respite

AFTER weeks of bitter fighting, a fragile ceasefire in Idlib province of Syria seems to have taken hold.

The main protagonists, Russia and Turkey, struck a deal two weeks ago after six hours of talks in Moscow between presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. The two men agreed to contain the conflict between their proxies that has sent nearly a million people fleeing for safety in the past three months in northwest Syria. Ankara and Moscow back opposing sides in Syria's civil war.

Even so, it is important to remember that this has been a long and protracted conflict of almost bewildering complexity. Everything can unravel at lighting speed at any time. Just weeks ago, the United Nations (UN) was warning that the worst humanitarian crisis yet in the Syrian civil war was unfolding. Since 2011, it has driven millions out of the country as refugees and killed hundreds of thousands. According to the UN refugee agency, Turkey hosts close to 4.1 million refugees, including 3.7 million Syrians and about 400,000 asylum seekers of other nationalities - the largest in the world.