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Assad tells Syrian opposition, ‘Give up your arms in return for amnesty’

March 2, 2016 at 11:03 am

Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad has offered an amnesty to opposition fighters if they give up their weapons. Speaking on German TV on Tuesday, Assad said that the truce, which came into effect on Saturday with US and Russian support, constitutes a glimmer of hope. He promised to help make it succeed.

Syrian opposition groups confirmed that regime forces dropped leaflets announcing that they would continue to fight anyone who still bears arms. In fact, observers claim that the regime and Russia have violated the truce for the fourth day in a row. One person was killed when homes were shelled in the suburbs of Hams. Russian fighter jets, meanwhile, raided the town of Harbanafsa to the south of Hama, while the suburbs of Damascus and Aleppo have also witnessed several clashes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Assad’s forces fired a shell on Tuesday morning in the town of Yadouda in Daraa Province. The group added that air force jets raided the Howaija Saqr area near Der Al-Zour.

Russian raids on southern and western Adlib and the city of Khan Shaikhoun have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.