DAMASCUS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Around 7,000 people have returned home in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib within two days after the recent Russian-Turkish deal that averted a wide-scale Syrian military offensive, local news reported Wednesday.

The people returned to the countryside of Idlib and the nearby northern countryside of Hama province in central Syria, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UN said more than 30,000 people fled their homes out of fear of an all-out assault on Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

The situation has changed when the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Monday to avoid a military confrontation in Idlib and establish a demilitarized zone instead.

Idlib is home to some of the government's staunchest opponents, including civilians and insurgents.

The deal minimized the sight of war in Idlib at least for the time being, causing people to start returning home.