Syria crisis: prime minister 'defects'

Syria's prime minister, Riyad Hijab, has become the highest-ranking official to defect from the Assad regime. His spokesman said he had fled to Jordan with several members of his family, including two brothers who were also ministers. Officials in Jordan confirmed the defection. Hijab is said to be now on the way to Turkey.

Rebels say three Iranian hostages were killed in government shelling in Damascus province. It has threatened to kill remaining hostages unless the army stop shelling. Iran, which has yet to respond to the report says it will host a talks on the crisis in Syria on Thursday.

The US government said Hijabi's defection showed the Assad regime is crumbling. The opposition Syrian National Council expressed similar sentiments.

The Syrian government claimed Hijab, who is a Sunni and was appointed at the end of June, had been sacked and replaced by a caretaker prime minister. Hijab's spokesman dismissed this as a "lie", and urged other officials to follow suit. He claimed Hijab had fled with help from the Free Syrian Army, in an operation that was more than two months in planning.

The head of the UN monitoring mission in Syria has expressed alarm about the fate of civilians in Aleppo amid reports of more clashes in the rebels. Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye urged both sides to protect civilians.

Rebels have vowed to fight till the end in Aleppo where the government forced again used aircraft to target rebels positions. Skirmishes were also witnessed in the centre around government buildings and the ancient citadel. Rebels control up to nine tanks in the city, according to a report form Guardian's Martin Chulov in Aleppo.

At least three people were injured when a bomb hit the offices of state TV in Damascus. An device exploded on the building's third floor, state media claimed.

Iran plans to host an international meeting on the Syria crisis, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The other countries invited have not been identified.

Reuters reports the deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as saying: "A consultation meeting on Syria will be held in Tehran on Thursday with the participation of those countries who have ... realistic stances on this country."

The aim of the meeting is to find "ways out of the current crisis, the return of stability and calm to that country and also supporting all constructive regional and international efforts", Abdollahian said.

US officials appear to be speaking from the same hymn sheet as the opposition Syrian National Council on the prime minister's defection.

The SNC said it showed the regime was "disintegrating" - a US official also used the word "crumbling" according to AP.

A senior U.S. official says the defection of the Syrian prime minister and other top government ministers is more evidence that the Assad regime "is crumbling."

The American official travelling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Africa called on other senior members of the Syrian government and military to break with President Bashar Assad.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the White House said the defection indicates the momentum is with opposition forces and the Syrian people.

National security council spokesman Tommy Vietor said the defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and demonstrate that the Syrian people believe Assad's days are numbered.

Vietor said the quickest way to end the bloodshed in Syria is for Assad to recognize that the Syrian people will not allow him to continue in power. And Vietor renewed U.S. calls for Assad to leave power and allow for a political transition.

The head of the UN monitoring mission has expressed alarm about the fate of civilians in Aleppo after a "significant deterioration" of security in the city.

Lieutent General Babacar Gaye's who's mission is due to come to an end on 18 August, issued this statement:

I am extremely concerned about the continued violence in Syria in particular the significant deterioration in Aleppo and its impact on the civilian population.

I urge the parties to protect civilians and respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. Civilians must not be subjected to shelling and use of heavy weapons.
I call on all parties to take all necessary steps to open a dialogue as the only way to alleviate the suffering of civilians and bring this conflict to an end.

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Riyad Hijab's spokesman says the former prime minister is heading for Qatar, after defecting to Jordan, Reuters reports citing an interview on al-Arabiya.

An official source in the Jordanian capital, Amman, confirmed that Hijab defected, it added.

Meanwhile, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council has hailed the defection as the "beginning of the end" of the Assad regime.

Abdel Basset Sayda told AFP: "We welcome the defection of Riyad Hijab and those of all the other civilian and military officials. This defection shows that the regime is disintegrating."

New footage from Aleppo appears to confirm rebel claims that they have attacked military checkpoints in the city. Earlier a rebel commander told the Guardian that the Free Syrian Army had attacked two checkpoints in the south-western district of Salahaddine.

Some of the latest video from the city shows the wreckage of a tank and armoured vehicle in the north-west district of Hanano. The video is labelled "dormitory checkpoint" - a reference to the student housing in the background. Graffiti on the tank says "Tawheed" after the rebel brigade leading the fight in Aleppo.

Basher al-Haji, a commander of the Tawheed (unity) brigade in Aleppo, claims government forces have attacked the north-western district of Sakhour using fighter jets.

Haji was speaking to my colleague Mona Mahmood, via video link Skype. She said damage to buildings could be seen on video link.

The Syrian arm targeted Sakhour district in Aleppo with MiG 21 jets [so far jets filmed over Aleppo have been Aero L-39s and not MiGs, according to blogger Brown Moses].

Many houses were levelled, a two-story house was completely destroyed. People are looking for the bodies under the rubble. They can't recover the bodies because of the heavy shooting.

The warplane has also destroyed the media office for Tawheed brigade. The shooting was so heavy that bodies were scattered in the street. The field hospital was also attack. Medical equipment was damaged in the attack.

People are in a real panic and do know what to do.

Earlier the Guardian's Martin Chulov also reported jets strafing the city.

Syria's prime minister, Riyad Hijab, has become the highest-ranking official to defect from the Assad regime. His spokesman said he had fled to Jordan with several members of his family, including two brothers who were also ministers. Officials in Jordan confirmed the defection.

The Syrian government claimed Hijab, who is a Sunni and was appointed at the end of June, had been sacked and replaced by a caretaker prime minister. Hijab's spokesman dismissed this as a "lie", and urged other officials to follow suit. He claimed Hijab had fled with help from the Free Syrian Army, in an operation that was more than two months in planning.

More clashes have occurred in rebel-held districts of Aleppo, where the Free Syrian Army has vowed to fight till the end. The government has used aircraft to target rebels in the south-western district of Salaheddine. Skirmishes were also witnessed in the centre around government buildings and the ancient citadel. Rebels control up to nine tanks in the city, according to a report form Guardian's Martin Chulov in Aleppo.

At least three people were injured when a bomb hit the offices of state TV in Damascus. An device exploded on the building's third floor, state media claimed.

A military aviator, who was the the first Syrian in space, has defected to Turkey, according to the Telegraph, citing the Turkish news agency Anatolia. Before crossing into Turkey, General Muhammed Faris visited the headquarters of the Free Syrian Army in his home town of Aleppo in a show of solidarity with rebel forces.

A group of Syrian rebels have claimed responsibility for kidnapping 48 Iranians in Damascus insisting they were members of the Revolutionary Guards, not Iranian pilgrims, as Tehran claimed, the New York Times reports. “They are Iranian thugs who were in Damascus for a field reconnaissance mission,” said a rebel leader, in a video that the rebels said showed the captives.

Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt see's Hijab's defection as a significant blow.

Others see it a sign that the Assad regime is splitting along sectarian lines. Journalist Malie al-Abdeh tweeted:

Analyst Rime Allaf:

Abdul Gabbar Kaidi, the colonel in charge of the rebel battle for Aleppo, claims rebels will fight to the end in Aleppo despite "tough battles" today.

Speaking to Mona Mahmood via Skype from Aleppo he confirmed much of the scene described by Martin Chulov earlier.

But Kaidi claimed rebels controlled 50% of the city (a claim he made last month) rather than 60% estimated by Martin.

Kaidi told Mona:

We have had tough battles in Aleppo today. All the liberated neighbourhoods which are under the control of the FSA were under attack by the Syrian army. But the army could not regain control.

The Free Syrian Army are in control of 50% of the neighbourhoods in Aleppo. Other districts which are not liberated yet are undergoing heavy fighting right now.

We have decided to stay steadfast in Aleppo until the last man we have. We will not withdrew as we did in Damascus [last month]. That was a big mistake. If we pullout now, Aleppo will witness a big massacre like the one committed in Qaboun in Damascus against the civilians after we left.

Salahaddine district is completely destroyed. Our men are still there, but it is not under rebel control. We were able to attack two checkpoints in the area.

The district is full of the Syrian army's tanks and the war planes are still targeting the district. FSA are targeting all the police stations in Aleppo now. The city is under an onslaught by the regime for its support of the FSA and military reinforcements keep arriving in Aleppo. We don't know how many people have been killed.

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Hijab's spokesman, Mohammad Otri, has urged other ministers to defect, but he warned them to act with caution.

In interview with al-Jazeera English, Otri said Hijab was the highest ranking official to defect so far.

Speaking through a translator, he said: “It will have grave repercussions on the regime and others will follow in his footsteps. Lower ranking ministers have no excuse but to join the revolution.

But Otri urged other officials to act with prudence. “The regime will not hesitate in killing anyone and claiming it was the work of terrorists,” he said. He added:

Hijab’s defection had been planned for than two months. Zero hour was delayed on many occasions. By the assistance of the Free Syrian Army he manage to reach a safe haven, and declare his defection. The whole family were taken to a safe place.

Otri said Hijab was given an ultimatum to become prime minister or be killed. He then planned a third option of defecting. Otri, claimed his boss was a popular figure from Deir el-Zour who helped secure the release of political detainees while in office.

The state news agency Sana has very brief statement on turmoil at the top of the regime.

Omar Ghalawanji, former first deputy prime minister, on Monday was designated as a caretaker premier.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Riyad Hijab was dismissed from his post.

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The former prime minister's spokesman, Mohammed Otri, has read out Hijab's defection statement on al-Jazeera.

It said:

I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime and I announce that I have joined the ranks of the freedom and dignity revolution. I announce that I am from today a soldier in this blessed revolution.

Speaking through a translator, Otri quoted the statement as saying: "The country is living under the brunt of genocide and barbarian brutal killing."

Rumours are swirling. Al-Arabiya, citing "sources", claims the finance minister has been arrested after he too defected.

But state TV is reported to have denied the claim.

Mohammad Otri, who claims to be a spokesman for Hijab, says the former prime minster defected with 10 families, including his eight brothers.

Two of those brothers were ministers in the oil and environment departments, according to a translation from journalist Hasan Hasan.

Speaking to al-Jazeera, Arabic Otri also claimed that the defection had been planned for months. If true this suggests his smuggling out was being worked up before he was even appointed prime minister in June.

Ahmad Kassim, a senior official with the Free Syrian Army, told AP that Hijab defected to Jordan along with three other ministers. The other ministers' identities were not immediately known, it said.

Rime Allaf, associate fellow of the thinktank Chatham House, says the Assad ship is sinking:

British based Syrian blogger Maysaloon:

It is is worth noting that Hijab's dash to Jordan comes after several intelligence officials were reported to have defected to Syria's south-east neighbour over the weekend.

Al-Jazeera reported:

Sources have told al-Jazeera that several Syrian intelligence officials have defected to Jordan. They include Colonel Yaarab Sharaa, said to be the head of the Damascus branch of Political Security; his brother Lieutenant Kinan al-Sharaa; Colonel Yaser Matar al-Haj Ali; Colonel Dr Ahmad Hassan al-Haj Ali; and Colonel Tawfiq Mohammad al-Haj Ali. They are all under the care of the Jordanian army at a military base, the sources said.

Hijab's replacement has already been appointed, Reuters reports.

Syria appointed Omar Ghalawanji, who was a previously a deputy prime minister, to lead a temporary caretaker government on Monday, Syrian television said.

Syria had earlier announced the sacking of prime minister Riyad Hijab, who had been appointed in June.

Activist The 47th claims two other ministers, not three as al-Arabiya reported, fled alongside Hijab.

The opposition Syrian National Council has welcomed Hijab's defection, according to opposition politician Obeida Nahas.

Syrian blogger Karl Sharro sounds a cautious note:

Syrian activist Shakeeb al-Jabri is worried about the regime reaction.

A Jordanian official appears to have confirmed Hijab's defection and flight across the border.

The Saudi broadcaster, al-Arabiya, claims three other ministers have defected with the prime minister.

Syria TV has announced the prime minster been sacked, amid numerous reports that he has defected.

Reuters reports:

Syrian prime minister Riyad Hijab has been sacked, Syrian television reported on Monday.

President Bashar al-Assad appointed Hijab, a former agriculture minister, as prime minister in June following a parliamentary election in May which authorities said was a step towards political reform but which opponents dismissed as a sham.

Activists claim Hijab has defected to Jordan. An activist calling himself THE_47th has been predicting a high level defection for days, as blogger Brown Moses notes.

"We are expecting an imminent large showdown" in Aleppo, according to the Guardian's Martin Chulov in an telephone update from the city.

All last night we were bombed by a circling jet from about 1.30am to 4.30am this morning ... tank fire was thundering into the city as well.

Martin estimates that the rebels control around 60% of Aleppo but are struggling to hold on to the gains they have made. They are pushing into the centre from the east, and there have been fierce clashes around the historic citadel and government buildings, he reports.

They are also trying to win over "hearts and minds" of the populous in the city as law and order breaks down.

Martin expects the rebels to fight to the death rather than flee the city as they have in other areas.

The rebels have secure around 20 "quite primitive" surface-to-air missiles, and they have captured up to nine tanks, Martin said. Their arsenal has been swelled primarily from weapons they have captured, rather than weapons being smuggled in, he added.

Rebel resistance and the extent of their control has surprised Martin since he arrived in the city last Friday.

It is clear that the rebel forces have put more effort into consolidating the city than they did into consolidating their gains in Damascus. There are around 6,000 rebels on the ground here and numbers continue to flow in as they prepare to meet the regime advance. They are going to fight to the death. They do realise that this is an extremely pivotal battle in the whole Syrian uprising, and it could make or break their cause ... the stakes are higher ... if they did leg it this time it would be difficult for them to find a way back. Aleppo is a make or break battle ... I don't think they can afford to cut and run this time.

There has been no sign of foreign fighters in city, as the government has claimed, Martin said. But he reported that rebels do say they have been approached by foreigners offering help.

Civilians have largely fled the east of the city, Martin reported. And in the south-west district of Salahiddine there were no civilians when Martin was there on Saturday night.

(The line to Martin was faint so you might need to turn up the volume on the clip below.)

The state news agency, Sana, said "an explosive device" hit the building of the General Organisation of the Radio and Television in Damascus.

It says there were only minor injuries, citing the minister of Information, Omran al-Zoabi.

Reuters quotes Zoabi as saying:

There is a lot of damage.

I'm in the ... radio and television building and everything is working and will continue to work. We have a lot of studios and equipment.

Welcome to Middle East Live. Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

SYRIA

Syrian state-run television said at least three people were wounded when a bomb hit the third floor of the state TV building in Damascus. A pro-government private Syrian TV station, Al-Ikhbariya, showed pictures of employees inspecting damages in the TV building and tending to a wounded colleague. The Syrian state TV remained on air.

Syrian army tanks shelled Aleppo and a helicopter gunship strafed rebel positions on Monday morning as they fought for control of the city, Reuters reports. The main focus of fighting in Aleppo has been the south-west Salaheddine district. One tank shell hit a building next to the Reuters reporting team, pouring rubble on to the street and sending billows of smoke and dust into the sky.

The Syrian government's news agency Sana blamed "mercenary terrorists" from Turkey, Afghanistan, and Gulf countries, for the violence and said troops were working with locals to "clear" rebel strongholds. It said: "In Salaheddine neighbourhood, authorities pursued the terrorists and killed scores of Arab and foreign gunmen."

More than 20,000 Syrian troops were said to be massing around Aleppo, according to the BBC citing military sources say. The Independent quoted a regime official as saying: "What you are seeing is the appetiser: the main course is yet to come."

"The coming days will be the most important of the revolution," rebel commander Abu Suleiman told the Guardian's Martin Chulov in Aleppo. Chulov writes:

Aleppo locals seem yet to fully embrace the rebel army, preferring to wait to see who can fill the vacuum.

Abu Suleiman is trying to change that by preparing a letter for locals calling for volunteers to help with civic services, and explaining what role the new sheriff in town intends to play. But as another day ended in war-ravaged Aleppo, the city clearly remained in play. The next week will go a long way towards telling who gets to call the shots.

A military aviator, who was the the first Syrian in space, has defected to Turkey, according to the Telegraph, citing the Turkish news agency Anatolia. Before crossing into Turkey, General Muhammed Faris visited the headquarters of the Free Syrian Army in his home town of Aleppo in a show of solidarity with rebel forces.

A group of Syrian rebels have claimed responsibility for kidnapping 48 Iranians in Damascus insisting they were members of the Revolutionary Guards, not Iranian pilgrims, as Tehran claimed, the New York Times reports. “They are Iranian thugs who were in Damascus for a field reconnaissance mission,” said a rebel leader, in a video that the rebels said showed the captives.

Iran's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, has asked Qatar for help to secure the release of the hostages, the semi-official Fars news agency reports. It insists the 48 captives were pilgrims who were on a coach to a Shia shrine in Damascus.

Western and Arab powers wrecked Kofi Annan's attempts to broker peace in Syria by insisting on regime change, argues Jonathan Steele.

What began as a peaceful uprising and then became local self-defence has been hijacked. Under Saudi, Qatari and US leadership, and with British, French and Israeli approval, it has turned into an anti-Iranian proxy war.

TURKEY

Turkey's security forces have killed as many as 115 Kurdish rebels during a major security offensive over the past two weeks, the country's interior minister. Idris Naim Sahin said the rebels were killed in an offensive backed by airpower near the town of Semdinli in Hakkari province, which sits on the border with Iraq.

EGYPT/ISRAEL

Israel warned of a deteriorating security situation in the Sinai after gunmen killed about 15 Egyptian border guards and hijacked armoured vehicles to launch an attack across the Israeli border. The assault on a security checkpoint in the Egyptian town of Rafah, where the borders of Egypt, Israel and Gaza converge, began at about 8pm on Sunday. According to a spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), eight armed men attacked while the Egyptian security guards were eating the traditional iftar meal that breaks the Ramadan fast. A further seven guards were injured.

Egypt's president, Mohamed Morsi, ordered the armed forces to impose full control of Sinai. Speaking on a TV after an emergency meeting with the military council he said: "Those who did this will be punished, everyone will see how the new procedures will be like."

LIBYA