Syria confirmed on Thursday (July 26th) the defection of three diplomats but downplayed its importance, AFP reported.
The Syrian foreign ministry confirmed that Lamia al-Hariri, chargé d'affaires in Cyprus, her husband and UAE ambassador Abdelatif al-Dabbagh and Mohammed Tahsin al-Fakir, security attaché in Oman, have fled to Qatar.
The ministry said al-Hariri was "merely a diplomat at the embassy in Cyprus" and described al-Fakir as an "administrative employee".
Al-Hariri, Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa’s niece, and al-Dabbagh defected on Tuesday, while al-Fakir followed suit on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, defected Syrian general Manaf Tlass visited Saudi Arabia to rally regional and international support for a "roadmap to end the 16-month conflict and rebuild the country without President Bashar Assad", Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported Thursday.
Tlass said his plan would "unite honourable Syrians inside and outside the country to […] end Syria's crisis". The defected general said current officials might be included in the country's future, saying regime members whose "hands are not stained with blood must not be uprooted".
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ADD A COMMENT (COMMENT POLICY) * DENOTES REQUIRED FIELD
READER COMMENTS
مهنا
2012-7-27
To all decent people, please don’t get carried away by corrupt acts and don’t join the opposition.
قاسم محمد طاهر
2012-7-26
The situation in the beloved Syria is very sorrowful, but what really breaks the heart is the silence on the Arab and international arena. This is shameful for the Arabs and the whole world to remain silent in the face of these crimes. The silence and passivity are endless and there is no objection to what is happening to those homeless Syrian brothers who live like the dead. Their hearts are broken because they lost everything. Their hearts are sad and they aspire to nothing because they lost everything especially the family, children, and friends. The Arabs remain as mere passive onlookers. We do not even object with words. We suffice with watching and feeling sorry as if we are watching a dramatic film. Sometimes we shed tears, but tears change nothing and solve no problem. I think that the shame affects our existence because of our silence and forsaking our family in Syria. God is Just, Merciful, and Benevolent. The Faith fills our hearts and the time would come when God takes revenge upon the oppressors. Our silence is cowardice and we use any fable justifications to support it.
علي فليح علي
2012-7-26
It is extremely shameful for all Arabs to remain silent and suffice with watching our Syrian brothers while they are being slaughtered and killed every day, without any movement or objection. We just feel sorry deeply, while no one is moving to stop this tyrant or objecting actually to stop this suppressive tyrant and putting an end to his life, because this is the religious penalty for him. The killer must be killed eventually no matter how long he continued killing without any sense of shame or remorse. God is just and it will take the revenge of all those who were oppressed. Nevertheless, waiting for this day is cowardice and weakness. Keeping silence on part of the Arabs is shameful because the Arabs are always the owners of magnanimity and silence is meanness. We have to achieve the dream today not tomorrow, because this dream started many centuries ago. We speak about the Arab dream of unity in the face of all the oppressors. The real power of the Arabs lies in their unity.