The World - News from Jan. 27, 1985

Syrian President Hafez Assad has declared an amnesty for some imprisoned members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and has invited those in exile to return to the country, state-controlled Syrian newspapers reported. The Muslim Brotherhood, made up of fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, has long opposed Assad because he and other top members of his administration come from the Alawite Muslim minority. The press reports said Assad made his decision after the group’s leaders indicated they “have pledged to no longer be the tools of Syria’s enemies.”