Syria's Assad extends rebel amnesty for 3 more months

DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday extended an amnesty for three more months for rebels to disarm and surrender themselves, state news agency SANA reported.

The extension of the pardon, first issued last July, offers more time for rebels to clear their "criminal records" by laying down their weapons and surrender to the government.

The amnesty also offers kidnappers a chance to clear their records by releasing their captives unharmed and without ransom.

An unspecified number of rebels around Damascus have benefited from the amnesty, while others chose to leave for rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The government renewed its calls recently for rebels to surrender in the northern city of Aleppo, where the Syrian army and Russia declared a unilateral cease-fire earlier October, or to leave for other rebel-controlled areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo or Idlib.

Only seven rebels took advantage of the brief truce and left eastern Aleppo, as the cease-fire was largely rejected by rebel groups who tried to prevent rebels and civilians from leaving.

The Syrian army and Russia have since renewed a broad offensive against rebels in eastern Aleppo.