The Aleppo truce deal is "back on track" and the ceasefire is expected to be applied "within hours", a Syrian rebel official said.

The evacuation of rebel-held areas is expected to start around 6am local time (4am GMT), an official in Jabha Shamiya rebel group told Reuters.

The evacuations from Aleppo are to begin in return for evacuations from two towns besieged by insurgents in Idlib.

An official in the pro-Assad military alliance has confirmed the truce deal and said 15,000 people are to leave two rebel-besieged villages.

His remarks come as Syrian President Bashar Assad said western countries are seeking the ceasefire in order to save "the terrorists".

President Assad spoke to the Russia Today channel in an interview aired on Wednesday.