| CNN | - |
(CNN) -- A top Syrian
general has reportedly defected from President Bashar al-Assad's
government, telling an Arabic news station in an interview that aired
Saturday that morale among security forces in Syria is at a low. The reported defection ...
Syrian general apparently defects, says morale among troops at a low
updated 6:55 PM EDT, Sat March 16, 2013
Syrian rebels take position in
Aleppo, the largest city in the country, on March 11. Tensions in Syria
flared in March 2011, escalating into a civil war that still rages
today. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken since the
start of the fighting.
HIDE CAPTION
Syrian civil war in photos
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Syrian Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf reportedly defects
- NEW: A U.N. worker is killed trying to flee violence outside Damascus, agency says
- Rights group: Syrian army's use of cluster bombs is causing "mounting civilian casualties"
- Syrian army has previously denied the use or possession of cluster bombs
The reported defection
followed the United Nations announcement that one of its employees, a
teacher, was killed during fighting between rebels and government forces
at a refugee camp outside Damascus.
If confirmed, Maj. Gen.
Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf's defection is the latest in a series of
such moves by high-profile government officials, raising questions about
the stability of al-Assad's government two years into the civil war
gripping the country.
Khalouf, head of
logistics and supply for the Syrian army, told the Arabic news network
Al Arabiya that many tied to al-Assad's government have lost faith, but
continue to pledge their allegiance to the president.
"It is only for
appearance's sake to present an image to the international community
showing that the regime is the one that pulls together all segments of
Syrian society under."
Khalouf told Al Arabiya
he had been working with rebels to defect. He appeared in the interview
with his son, a Syrian army captain, who defected with him.
There was no immediate
reaction from the Syrian government on the reported defection, which
follows the two-year anniversary of the uprising.
Rebels posted what they
claim are two videos on YouTube that offer proof that they helped
Khalouf and his family escape Syria through Daraa province into Jordan.
CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the videos, but Al Arabiya reported the interview with Khalouf was conducted in Jordan.
U.N. employee killed at camp
The United Nations
Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees confirmed
Saturday that a member of its teaching staff was killed Wednesday trying
to flee the fighting at the Khan Eshieh refugee camp in Syria.
Nasri Khalil Hasan was
killed while trying to make his way with his wife and four children to a
makeshift shelter after the camp was reportedly struck by an artillery
shell, the UNRWA said in a statement.
Hasan was hit by shrapnel from a subsequent explosion, it said.
Because the hospital at
the refugee camp was not open, he was taken to a hospital in the nearby
city of Jdaydeh, according to the UNRWA. He died at the hospital the
next day, the agency said.
Cluster bombs linked to civilian casualties
The news of Khalouf's
apparent defection and the death of Hasan came the same day a human
rights group accused Syrian forces of using an increasing number of
cluster bombs in residential areas.
Human Rights Watch says
its researchers have identified 119 locations across Syria, where at
least 156 cluster bombs have been used from August to mid-February.
The result is "mounting civilian casualties," the rights group said.
Human Rights Watch said
it has investigated two cluster bomb attacks in the past two weeks -- in
Deir Jamal, near Aleppo, and Talbiseh, near Homs.
These attacks killed 11 civilians, including two women and five children, and injured 27 others, the rights group said.
"Syria is expanding its
relentless use of cluster munitions, a banned weapon, and civilians are
paying the price with their lives and limbs," said Steve Goose, director
of the arms division at Human Rights Watch.
"The initial toll is
only the beginning because cluster munitions often leave unexploded
bomblets that kill and maim long afterward."
The Syrian government did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
In October, Syrian armed forces denied the possession or use of cluster bombs.
A statement released
through the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said "misleading media
outlets" had published "untrue news claiming the Syrian Arab Army has
been using cluster bombs against terrorists."
The Syrian army "does
not possess such bombs," it said, adding that the media reports were
"aimed at diverting the public opinion from the practices of the armed
terrorist groups against civilians."
The Human Rights Watch
report is based on field investigations, analysis of video footage
posted by activists and eyewitness reports, it said.
The collection of data
does not include details of casualty numbers but many deaths and
injuries have been documented, the group said.
"Remnants of at least 156 distinct cluster bombs have been identified so far from the video footage," the group said.
"Human Rights Watch has
documented government use of cluster munitions, both air-dropped and
ground-delivered, but it has seen no evidence of cluster munition use by
opposition rebel groups."
Weapons are indiscriminate
Another rights group, Amnesty International, has accused the Syrian government of using cluster bombs in civilian areas.
"Civilians continue to
be at the receiving end of increasingly frequent indiscriminate attacks
by Syrian government forces," Amnesty said in a report Thursday.
"Internationally banned
cluster munitions are being used daily against civilian residential
areas in towns and villages, in utter disregard for the most fundamental
principles of international humanitarian law."
The report said the
"vast majority" of abuses were committed by Syrian government forces,
but that rebel groups are also carrying out abuses such as kidnapping
and summary executions.
Syria is not one of the
111 states worldwide that have signed up to the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, which bans their use. The United States also is not a
signatory.
Cluster munitions are
widely viewed as unacceptable because the bomblets spread across a wide
area and make no distinction between civilians and fighters.
Death toll
CNN cannot independently verify death tolls or other accounts of violence in Syria.
Last month, U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said about 70,000 people had
been killed in the two-year-old conflict.
The Syrian army
continued to hunt "terrorists" -- its description of rebel fighters --
in several areas on Saturday, including outside Damascus and Homs, and
in Idlib province, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
end quote from:
No comments:
Post a Comment