Syrian Red Crescent

A man who was filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus prison was a former intelligence officer of the ousted Syrian regime, according to local residents, and not an ordinary civilian who had been imprisoned, as he had claimed, the US media outlet said, which essentially admits its mistake.

According to state media the Syrian government is ‘continuously ready’ for prisoner exchange with rebels before upcoming peace talks.

The Syrian government has conducted prisoner exchanges in the past with a wide range of rebel groups under the auspices of the Syrian Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The United Nations suspended all humanitarian convoys in Syria on Sept. 20 following a deadly air strike on aid trucks, as fighting intensified after the regime declared an end to a week-long truce, even as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the "cease-fire was not dead."

A car bomb killed at least seven people near the revered Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on April 25, state television reported.

The bomb struck Al-Diyabiyah, a town that serves as one of the gateways for the many pilgrims from around the world who visit the Shiite holy site.

U.N. convoys delivering aid to thousands of besieged Syrians were due to set out on Feb. 17, after  Syria's government approved access to seven besieged areas, including the city of Madaya, U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura's office said on Feb. 16 in Damascus following a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

Dozens of aid trucks headed on Jan. 11 to the besieged rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya, where more than two dozen people are reported to have starved to death.