Russia says truce extended in Syria's Aleppo for 72 hours

Russia's defence ministry on Friday said that a temporary truce in the Syrian battleground city of Aleppo has been extended for 72 hours "in order to prevent the situation from worsening".

At Moscow's initiative "the regime of silence in the province of Latakia and in the city of Aleppo has been extended from 00:01 (local time) on May 7 for 72 hours," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The truce had been due to end early Saturday after giving residents some respite from two weeks of fighting that killed more than 280 civilians, even as clashes raged south of the city.

The halt in fighting in Aleppo is part of international efforts to revive a landmark February ceasefire and galvanise peace talks to end a five-year war that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.

Russia has been flying a bombing campaign in Syria since September to back up the forces of its ally President Bashar Al-Assad.

Together with the United States, Moscow has been spearheading the latest diplomatic push to resolve the protracted conflict in the country.