UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said on Friday the Syrian government has released 223 prisoners, but stressed that many more must still be freed.

UN monitors on Thursday saw 210 detainees released in Damascus and 13 in the southern city of Deraa, UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said.

UN reports and rights groups have spoken of between 10,000 and 30,000 prisoners held in often secret detention centres around the country where President Bashar al-Assad has been battling an uprising for 15 months.

Syrian state television said Thursday that 500 detainees involved in the uprising had been freed. “We cannot at this stage verify other reports of releases,” Del Buey told reporters.—AFP