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factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information .
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2013 )
During the rule of the
al-Assad family and the
Syrian Civil War , a number of prominent Syrian figures have defected to either the rebellion or to other countries:
During Hafez al-Assad rule
During Bashar al-Assad rule
Syrian civil war
Bassim Al Khaled/ بسيم الخالد
first lieutenant , defected in June 2011
Mohammad Bassam Imadi , Former Ambassador to
Sweden – 2011
Abdul Razzaq Tlass , former Syrian
police
first lieutenant , defected in June 2011, one of the founders of the
Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade in August 2011, and founder and commander of the
Farouq Brigades , October 2011–October 2012
Riad al-Asaad , former
colonel in the
Syrian Air Force ,
[2] and current commander of the
Free Syrian Army ,
[3] July 2011
Mustafa Al-Sheikh , former General in the
Secret Police force , and former head of the
Free Syrian Army – 6 January 2012
[4]
[5]
Imad Ghalioun , parliamentarian for
Homs - January 2012 (to
Egypt )
[6]
Abdo Hussameddin , Deputy Oil Minister – 7 March 2012
Firas Tlass , son of Mustafa Tlass, the former defence minister under
Hafez al Assad – 12 March 2012 (to
Paris )
[7]
Hassan Hamada ,
Syrian Air Force Colonel – 2012 (to
Jordan )
Fares Bayoush ,
Syrian Air Force lieutenant colonel – July 2012
[8]
Manaf Tlass ,
Brigadier General of the
Syrian Republican Guard – 2012 (to
Turkey , later
Paris )
Nawaf al-Fares , Ambassador to Iraq – 2012 (In
Iraq , later moved to
Qatar )
[9]
Adnan Silu , Major General and former head of Syria's chemical weapons program – July 2012 defected to the opposition.
[10]
Abdelatif al-Dabbagh , Ambassador to the
UAE , July 2012 (to
Qatar )
[11]
Lamia al-Hariri , niece of Syrian vice president
Farouk al-Sharaa , Envoy to
Cyprus , – July 2012 (to
Qatar )
[12]
Mohammad Tahseen Faqir , military attaché at the Syrian embassy in Oman – July 2012
[13]
Ikhlas al-Badawi ,
Aleppo
MP , a
Ba'athist and an Assad loyalist, defected to
Turkey with her six children – July 2012
[14]
[15]
Farouk Taha , Ambassador to
Belarus . Fled to Belarus in the spring, but did not publicize his defection before late July.
[16]
Khaled al-Ayoubi , Chargé d'affaires at the embassy to the United Kingdom and most senior diplomat in the country after higher officials were expelled. – July 2012.
[17]
Mohammad Hussam Hafez , Consul at the Syrian embassy in
Yerevan ,
Armenia – July 2012.
[18]
General
Muhammed Faris , a military aviator who became the first
Syrian in space , defects to Turkey.
[19]
Riyad Farid Hijab –
Syrian Prime minister , August 2012.
[20]
Mohammad al Jililati – Finance Minister, reported to have been arrested while trying to defect.
[21] Denied by the Syrian state TV, which said Mr Jililati was still in his office working as usual, and it broadcast what it said was a phone interview with him denying reports that he had been detained.
Danny al-Baaj – Syria's representative at the
United Nations Human Rights Council , defects to Geneva, 11 July 2012
[22]
[23]
Brigadier General
Ibrahim al-Jabawi – deputy police commander for the central Syrian province of Homs, 12 July 2012 (to
Jordan )
[24]
Salim Idris – was a general in the
Syrian Police Force when he defected in July 2012
[1]
[2] . Now serves as the current
Chief of Staff of the
Free Syrian Army .
Yaroub al-Shara – cousin of
Syrian Vice President
Farouk al-Shara .
[25]
Naser al-Hariri – Former member of the
People's Council of Syria from
Daraa , 23 August 2012 (to
Jordan )
[26]
Mohamed Moussa al-Khairat – Commander of the seventh division within the
Syrian Police Force , 25 August 2012 (to
Jordan )
[3]
[4]
Muhammad Khayr al-Hariri – Former Syrian MP and tribal chief of the southern
Daraa region, 27 August (to
Jordan )
[5]
Abdullah Al-Omar – Director of several pro-government Syrian Channels, September 2012
[6]
[7] .
Mohammad Fares – a Syrian Pilot
[8] .
Awad Ahmed al-Ali – head of the security branch in Damascus, September 2012 (to
Turkey )
[9]
[10]
Emad al-Ahmar – Syrian Consul in
Kuala Lumpur ,
Malaysia 8 September 2012 (to
Egypt )
[11]
[12] .
Mahmoud Obeid – Syrian diplomatic attaché in
Malaysia , 8 September 2012 (to
Egypt )
[13]
[14] .
Bashar al-Haj – Syrian diplomatic attaché in
Serbia , September 2012 (?)
[15]
[16] .
Youssef Assad –
Syrian Air Force officer and a family relative of President
Bashar Assad
[17] .
Khaled Abdul Rahman al Zamel – a
Syrian
colonel who initially defected to join the opposition forces, and in late September 2012 called on to abandon the insurgency against President
Bashar al-Assad (accompanied by around 10 other former rebels)
[18] .
Jihad Makdissi – Syrian Forgein Ministry's spokesman, 2 December 2012 (to
UK )
[19]
[20] .
Adnan Salo – former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian army
[21] , 9 December 2012
Major General
Abdulaziz al-Shalal – commander of Syria's Military Police, 25 December 2012
[22]
[23] .
Kamal Jamal Beyk – Former director of programming at the official SANA radio and the SANA online news website in Damascus, 28 December 2012 (to
Paris )
[24] .
Lama Al-Khadra – Former state-run radio station
Radio Damascus
Journalist , 28 December 2012 (to
Paris )
[25]
Baddour Abdel Karim – former state-run radio station
Radio Damascus
Journalist , 28 December 2012 (to
Paris )
[26]
Maj. Gen
Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf – chief of supplies and logistics of
Syrian Armed Police Forces , 16 March 2013 (to
Jordan ).
[27]
Sayf Balud – former First Lieutenant in the
Syrian Army
[28]
Anwar Raslan - former Syrian colonel who led a unit of
Syria's General Intelligence Directorate . Fled to Jordan then sought Asylum in Germany, where in January 2022, he was convicted of
crimes against humanity in a German
Higher Regional Court .
[29]
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