DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday issued a general amnesty that covers crimes committed before April 16, the state-TV said.

To ease the simmering tension, Assad has granted a set of amnesties that pardoned wanted people, who hadn't committed homicide during the long-standing crisis.

Further details are still forthcoming.

The UN said that more than 70,000 people have been killed during Syria's bloody crisis.