THE SYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad has offered an amnesty to those who’ve been detained for protesting against his regime.

He’s issued a decree which grants an amnesty “for crimes committed before 31 May 2011″ reports the Wall Street Journal. It specifically mentions members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who have been banned from Syria since 1980.

The amnesty could affect some 10,000 people who Syrian activists say have been rounded up since the protests against the Assad regime broke out in mid-March. The release of political prisoners has been a key demand of the opposition, but activists say it is occurring too late.

RTE reports that the US is dismissing Assad’s getsure and other reforms, saying that his leadership and regime is becoming “less tenable” all the time. Opponents of the Syrian regime – from the West, the Middle East and from inside the country itself – have gathered in Turkey for a conference aimed at overcoming differences and bolstering protesters.

The news came as Syrian troops  shelled a southern town with tanks and artillery, killing at least eight people, including an 11-year-old girl, in the latest crackdown by Assad’s regime.

Rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the regime’s crackdown on the uprising, the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year rule. The government claims the uprising is the work of Islamic extremists and armed gangs.

- Additional reporting by AP