Syria's Assad issues new general amnesty: SANA

DAMASCUS- Agence France-Presse

Machine guns hang in a shelter for Syrian rebels in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 12, 2013. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has issued a general amnesty for crimes committed in the war-torn country prior to Tuesday, state news agency SANA reported.

"President Assad has issued decree number 23, granting a general amnesty for crimes committed before April 16, 2013," said the agency.

Under the decree, "the death penalty will be replaced with a life sentence of hard labour," it added.