Syrian Ambassador to UAE, Two Generals Defect
Syrian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Abdul-Latif al-Dabbagh has defected, al-Jazeera TV reported Wednesday.
The Doha based television said that Dabbagh defected but it did not say where he was.
In February, Gulf Arab states announced the expulsion of Syria's envoys in protest at Damascus' deadly crackdown on dissent.
A high-level source confirmed to Agence France Presse on Wednesday that Syria’s charge d'affairs in Cyprus, Lamia Hariri, has defected from the regime.
But the source said there was no confirmation that Hariri's husband, Dabbagh, had also defected.
"It is true that Lamia Hariri (has defected) but it is not yet (confirmed) that her husband has," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The Syrian foreign ministry has not yet confirmed the couple's defection
Hariri's defection comes after Nawaf Fares, Syria's ambassador to Iraq, left for Qatar this month after publicly renouncing his post.
Also Wednesday a Turkish Foreigh Minister diplomat told AFP that two more Syrian brigadier generals crossed into Turkey on Tuesday night, bringing to 27 the number of generals who have fled the unrest in Syria.
Turkey has given sanctuary to dozens of army defectors who have formed the Free Syrian Army in opposition to Assad's regime.
It is also sheltering more than 42,000 Syrian refugees who have fled the violence and been accommodated in camps near the border. The camps also shelter rebel forces made up of army defectors.
Source: Agence France Presse
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