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Dublin: 15 °C Saturday 25 May, 2013

Syrian Prime Minister defects to Jordan

State-run television in Syria says Riad Hijab has been sacked but opposition sources say he has fled to Jordan.

Screengrab of Riad Hijab
Screengrab of Riad Hijab
Image: Screengrab

SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER Riad Hijab, his family, two ministers and three army officers defected to Jordan on Sunday night, the Syrian opposition in the kingdom told AFP.

“Hijab, members of his family, two ministers and three army officers crossed the border into Jordan last night following coordination between the Syrian opposition and the (rebel) Free Syrian Army,” opposition Syrian National Council member Khalid Zein al-Abedin told AFP.

“The Free Syrian Army helped all of them cross the border. They are now in a safe place inside the kingdom. Several other army officers defected and arrived in Jordan last night.”

Another member of the Syrian opposition confirmed the details of the defection.

“The opposition and the Free Syrian Army are coordinating now to help more army officers and officials defect to Jordan in the coming few days,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Zayed Hammad, head of the Ketab and Sunna Society, a charity that cares for more than 50,000 Syrians who fled violence said his staff had seen Hijab entering Jordan on Monday night.

“Aid workers from the society saw Hijab, his family and others cross the border last night and I can confirm that,” said Hammad, whose organisation cares for more than 50,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.

- © AFP, 2012

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Comments (15 Comments)

  • Second piece of good news today. He said “I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime.” Please take note.

    Reply
  • mattoid 06/08/12 #

    Another interesting development:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19136630

    “Jihadists – those committed to establishing an Islamic state by violent means – have started to be seen on the battlefield in Syria. The FSA is said to be scrutinising jihadists in Syria very closely. They are considered to be “a real threat after the Assad regime falls”, a senior FSA officer told the BBC”.

    If true, it shows that Al Qaeda fighters and other jihadists are distinct and separate from the FSA. It is quite probable that instead of being armed, trained and paid by the west, as many commenters have alleged, they have simply crossed the border from Iraq bringing their own weaponry with them and are operating independently from the FSA.

    Reply
    • You can’t be saying things like that. It’s a global American conspiracy and there’s nothing else to it. Only those who believe in it see the truth and everyone else is a moron who can’t open their eyes.

      In truth the FSA hasn’t been associated with them but it’s not like they have the manpower to deal with the threat the jihadists pose and the Syrian Army at the same time.

      Reply
    • The FSA isn’t a monolith and observing it is like observing a very fast-moving object. You presume to know its essence and nature. You’re guessing, nothing more.

      Reply
  • Wow Petr! Did you read that in a fortune cookie?

    Reply
  • mattoid 06/08/12 #

    Both are probably true, but did he flee to Jordan because he was sacked, or was he sacked because he fled to Jordan?

    Reply
  • Strange that all the usual suspects aren’t around today. Maybe it’s the daylight.

    Reply
  • Derek 07/08/12 #

    If Syria is taken over by Sunni’s and Shiite ruling majority removed, just how long will it take for the media to be full of news of Iran and daily slanderous tidbits of it’s wrongdoings and deviousness? The powers that be clearly saw they were getting no where with sanctioning Iran and saw the small localised opposition in Syria to be a tool they could bolster on and exploit for their favor. Once this is complete, watch how fast their attention go’s back to Iran with a new momentum. Another large scale war is getting closer ever day now sadly.

    Reply

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