At Least 12 Syrian Secret Police Defect to Opposition

At Least 12 Syrian Secret Police Defect to Opposition

clipped from article:
In what appears to have been a plan executed by army defectors, at least a dozen secret police in Syria have defected to the opposition. The defectors fled in the midst of gunfight at the Air Force Intelligence complex and it appears to have been orchestrated by the opposition.

This is the first desertion from President Assad’s secret police and it shows just how quickly Assad’s support is eroding in the country. The gunfight happened in Idlib, which is about 175 miles from Damascus. According to activists in the country, at least ten people were killed.

The number of defectors from the Syrian Army is steadily increasing, but many were surprised to hear of the defection from the secret police. Assad has had a number of high level government officials that have defected, as well.

Today was the last day of a deadline imposed by the Arab League for Assad to sign a peace plan. If not, the League has said that it will impose numerous economic and financial sanctions against the country. This is not the first time that the Arab League has given such a deadline and it’s not known if the League will actually follow through this time or not.
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