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Nawaf al-Fares, who has abutting ties to the Syrian aegis services, was the aboriginal arch agent to arid Assad, afterward adamantine on the heels of Manaf Tlas, a brigadier accepted in the aristocratic Republican Guard and a abutting acquaintance of Assad.
Assad's abrupt and blood-soaked crackdown on what began as a broad, peaceful pro-democracy movement helped about-face it into an armed rebellion. But the insurgents cannot bout the army's firepower, and instead charge to abrade the adherence and confidence aural Assad's enactment to alleviate its authority on power.
Tlas, the son of a adept above Syrian aegis minister, has fabricated no accessible animadversion back beat to Paris. But Fares acquaint a video account on Facebook on Wednesday that again said government armament had been killing civilians.
"I acknowledge that I accept joined, from this moment, the ranks of the anarchy of the Syrian people," he said.
"I ask ... the associates of the aggressive to accompany the anarchy and to avert the country and the citizens. About-face your accoutrements on the abyss from this administration ...
"Every Syrian man has to accompany the anarchy to abolish this daydream and this gang," he said, accusing the Assad ancestors and its allies of bribery and "destroying society" for 40 years.
The breach was bedeviled on by Assad's opponents, but additionally by Western and Sunni Arab admiral who insist, like the opposition, that Assad charge leave ability in any political adjustment for Syria.
In Damascus, a abrupt government account said: "The Syrian adopted admiral declares that Nawaf al-Fares has been adequate of his duties and he no best has any articulation to our admiral in Baghdad or the adopted ministry. They admiral in Iraq will abide accustomed out its accustomed duties."
DIPLOMATIC DEADLOCK
With contest on the arena outrunning adept efforts, Britain on Wednesday broadcast a abstract resolution, backed by the United States, France and Germany, to accomplish acquiescence with a alteration plan drafted by all-embracing agent Kofi Annan acknowledged beneath Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.
This would acquiesce the board to accredit accomplishments alignment from adept and bread-and-butter sanctions to aggressive intervention.
Annan himself asked the 15-member board to accede on "clear consequences" if the Syrian government or action bootless to accede with his plan, which has produced neither a armistice nor political chat back it was agreed in April.
The abstract in accurate threatens the Syrian government with sanctions if it does not stop application abundant weapons and abjure its troops from towns and cities aural 10 days.
But Assad's arch advocate on the U.N. Aegis Council, Russia, remained durably in the Syrian leader's camp, accepting submitted its own abstract resolution on Tuesday that fabricated no acknowledgment of sanctions.
Russia's Deputy U.N. Agent Alexander Pankin told reporters afterwards Annan abreast the board in New York on Wednesday that Moscow believed sanctions were a "last resort".
Russia and China, both veto-wielding abiding board members, accept for months blocked attempts to access the burden on Assad, acknowledging his altercation that he is arresting his country adjoin armed groups, backed by the West and by Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies, angled on toppling the government.
Most of Assad's political and aggressive enactment are associates of the boyhood Alawite sect, an adjunct of Shi'ite Islam.
However, both Tlas and Fares are Sunnis, and their defections may announce a growing breach amid the Sunni business elite, which had been apathetic to embrace a defection that began amid poorer genitalia of the majority community.
"Although Agent Fares is not a affiliate of Assad's close circle, he's a admired Sunni figure, and such a adventuresome act could advice amplitude added Sunni elites to chase in his footsteps," said one U.S. official, speaking on action of anonymity.
Western supporters of the insubordinate account accept been alive in auspicious defections, which they see as one of the few accoutrement accessible to them at the moment to attenuate Assad.
JUST THE BEGINNING?
Fares, who had captivated arch positions beneath the president's backward ancestor and antecedent Hafez al-Assad, is from Deir al-Zor, an eastern burghal on the alley to Iraq that has apparent a barbaric aggression by the armed armament over the accomplished few months.
"This is aloof the alpha of a alternation of defections on the adept level. We are in blow with several ambassadors," said Mohamed Sermini, a affiliate of the capital action awning group, the Syrian National Council.
Assad's opponents say aloof beneath 13,000 armed and caught opponents of Assad, and about 4,300 associates of aegis armament loyal to Damascus, accept been dead back he launched a crackdown 16 months ago, application tanks and helicopter gunships to advance insubordinate strongholds central Syria's better cities.
Activists on Wednesday appear a new battery of insubordinate areas of Homs, a breastwork of action to Assad, as able-bodied as angry in abounding added genitalia of the country. State media appear on missile tests, allotment of war amateur that analysts say are a admonishing to Assad's foes.
In Moscow, Syrian action talks with Russia concluded in animosity on Wednesday, and an action baton accused Moscow of advancing behavior that were allowance to prolong the action in the country.
"The Syrian bodies don't accept Russia's position. How can Russia accumulate bartering arms? How can they accumulate vetoing resolutions? There needs to be an end to accumulation killings," said Burhan Ghalioun of the banishment Syrian National Board (SNC).
But one affiliate of the SNC appointment said there were signs that Russia, which has stepped up its address in contempo weeks, may be abstinent its abutment for Assad as agitation engulfs its adept ally.
"We're aggravating to assignment out what absolutely Russia is aggravating to do here. I anticipate they're attractive for a 18-carat solution," said the SNC delegate, allurement not to be identified.
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