Sunday March 17, 2013
Top Syrian general defects to Jordan
BEIRUT: The Syrian army's logistics chief, General Mohammed Khalluf, has defected, activists said on Saturday in a YouTube video posted on the Internet.
The video, which could not be independently verified, shows a man with white hair in civilian clothes getting into a car and a voice offscreen naming him as General Mohammed Khalluf, head of logistics, who has defected."
The man speaking in the video says that Khalluf and his family were being escorted out of Syria on Friday.
Al-Arabiya television said that Khalluf defected along with his son, Captain Ezzedine who headed a reconnaissance unit for the Syrian army.
The Dubai-based news channel also aired part of an interview with Khalluf in which he said he had planned his defection with units of the "Syrian revolution" - insurgents fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists said they waited before reporting the defection to ensure that Khalluf and his family had crossed safely into neighbouring Jordan.
Since the March 2011 start of the conflict between Assad's regime and rebel forces, dozens of senior army officers including some 40 generals have defected and headed to Turkey.
Turkish authorities have refused to give the exact number of Syrian defectors, who typically join the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army. Former Syrian premier Riad Hijab defected to Jordan in August 2012. - AFP
- Chieftains handing out dubious titles
- Titles with no standing draw renewed attention
- Nightmare over topless pictures
- ‘Body buried 13 storeys deep’

- Pakatan MPs to attend swearing-in
- Striptease queen married five times in search of true love, says author
- ‘Divine empowerment’ for Muslim women
- Kuala Dimensi chief fails to set aside subpoena served by Ling’s lawyers
- Sabah CM slams assemblymen over poverty eradication efforts
- Dept set to fight peat fires
- ‘Don’t go out to Straits of Malacca at night’
- DOE declares three states as ‘no open burning’ zones
- East coast hit by the haze, too
- Macalister Road to be reopened today
- Former council chiefs rapped over building plan
- Ringgit falls to 1-yr low at 3.2010 versus US dollar
- Malaysia's KLCI falls nearly 10 points in early trade
- US stocks down after Bernanke hints at slowing stimulus
- Malaysian equities to face selling pressure on Thursday
- Public Invest Research: TSH Resources becoming big cap plantation company
- CIMB Research ups MY EG target price to RM1.74
- Assore - Assmang approves ferromanganese joint venture in Malaysia
- Malaysia-Market factors to watch on June 20(Thursday)
- Kulim to take New Britain Palm Oil Ltd private?
- Nusa Gapurna rejects PKNS offer to up stake in PJ Sentral
- AirAsia wants no further delays in opening of new low-cost terminal KLIA2
- AirAsia signs RM27.5bil engine deal
- AirAsia X shares worth up to RM1.66 each
- Use of psychometrics assessment for employees can be controversial
- Low bids for Hwang-DBS due to the banking group’s poor Q3 results
- Paul Revington is glad to be back to train the Malaysian team
- Heavy task on Faizal’s shoulders
- Singapore Open: Chong Wei Feng fights to survive
- Rachel owes her rich vein of form to change in technique
- Future looks gloomy for men’s squash when Beng Hee calls it a day
- Gavin Green confident he can take on title-holders this weekend
- Zhang switches focus on developing golf in China
- Thaworn hopes to find his ‘A’ game in Selangor Masters
- Khairy: RM8mil to be forked out for Sukma due to lack of sponsorship
- A chance for local cyclists to shine
- Rahul survives weekend of harsh hurdles in Norfolk
- MGF set wheels in motion to unearth young talents
- Steady as Jie goes
- Ferrer loses title after opening round loss
- Heat edge Spurs in overtime to force Game 7 in NBA Finals
- Nightmare over topless pictures
- ‘Body buried 13 storeys deep’
- Singapore's air turns "hazardous" as Indonesian fires rage
- Striptease queen married five times in search of true love, says author
- Chieftains handing out dubious titles
- Titles with no standing draw renewed attention
- It’s Honda Accord now for ministers
- Fake Facebook posting claims housewife is offering sex
- ‘Don’t go out to Straits of Malacca at night’
- Pakatan MPs to attend swearing-in
- Nightmare over topless pictures
- Use of psychometrics assessment for employees can be controversial
- Singapore's air turns "hazardous" as Indonesian fires rage
- We need to be careful about cosmetic surgery
- ‘Body buried 13 storeys deep’
- Sumatec shareholders to vote on Kazakhstan oil and gas asset buy
- 3 parties said to be in talks to take over Luster
- AirAsia X shares worth up to RM1.66 each
- NS trainee gives birth in camp toilet
- Another flash mob ahead of gathering

