Syrian Rebels Set Up 'Higher Revolutionary Council'

Syrian army defectors on Monday announced the creation of a higher military council to "liberate" the country from President Bashar al-Assad.

"After consultations with dissident officers, an accord was reached to form the Higher Revolutionary Council in order to liberate Syria from this gang," the council said in a statement, referring to Assad's embattled regime.

The statement was signed by the council's leader, General Mustafa Ahmed al-Sheikh, the most senior commander to have defected to date far from the Syrian army. Sheikh is currently based in Turkey.

It was not clear whether the council will oversee operations carried out by the rebel Free Syrian Army, which claims to group some 40,000 dissident soldiers and sympathizers.

Sheikh, 54, defected from the army in early January along with his son and a brother, who were also in the military. Another brother who was a member of Syria's ruling Baath party also fled.

Sheikh was in charge of security affairs in northern Syria before defecting.