Syria's government said on Saturday it released 672 prisoners who had promised to accept the state's authority, a move it said was aimed at bolstering a "reconciliation" process. Reconciliation is the term the government uses for local deals with rebels for them to either disarm and accept its rule or to leave with small arms for other insurgent areas.
"They have been released after promising not to do anything against the nation's security or stability," Justice Minister Hisham al-Shaar was quoted as saying by the official SANA news agency. He said most of the prisoners were from Damascus but there were others from across Syria, indicating the release was not linked to a particular deal regarding one rebel-held area.