Syria’s President Bashar al Assad has issued a general amnesty for crimes committed in the war-torn country until now ahead of a national holiday.

“President Assad has issued decree number 23, granting a general amnesty for crimes committed before April 16, 2013,” said the state news agency SANA.

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

Mr Assad has issued several pardons, including for those convicted of acts against the state, during the two-year crisis, usually ahead of national holidays.

The latest decree comes on the eve of the anniversary of the 1946 withdrawal of French troops from Syria that marked the end of France’s mandate of the Arab country.

Syria’s uprising began in March 2011 and has since turned into a civil war that has killed over 70,000 people, according to the UN.

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