List of Syrian defectors explained

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

• Bassam Adal – 1989 (to Israel)^[1]

During Bashar al-Assad rule

• Hussam Awak, Syrian Air Force and Air Force Intelligence Directorate officer, claims to have defected in 2005, though others argue that he only joined the Syrian opposition out of opportunism

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 https://web.archive.org/web/20121217133631/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/12/10/254251.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20190105201212/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/ap-interview-new-syrian-rebel-commander-very-afraid-regime-will-use-chemical-weapons/2012/12/19/17c8cff6-499a-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlines. 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) http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/CdaNewsFlash/0,2297,L-4272731_184,00.html http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/weltspiegel/art17,953631
• Muhammad Khayr al-Hariri – Former Syrian MP and tribal chief of the southern Daraa region, 27 August (to Jordan) http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2012/08/27/Syria-Ex-Daraa-MP-flees-Jordan-38-relatives_7384347.html
• Abdullah Al-Omar – Director of several pro-government Syrian Channels, September 2012 http://www.firstpost.com/topic/place/syria-583-the-defection-of-abdullah-alomar-director-of-several-proregime-syrian-channels-en-video-tdoOlq01IcA-15-1.html http://reshet.tv/%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/News/Abroad/ArabWorld/Article,105941.aspx.
• Mohammad Fares – a Syrian Pilot http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=432731.
• Awad Ahmed al-Ali – head of the security branch in Damascus, September 2012 (to Turkey) https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/sep/07/syria-crisis-eu-talks-live http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4278392,00.html
• Emad al-Ahmar – Syrian Consul in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8 September 2012 (to Egypt) http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/13/2565688 http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/07/236700.html.
• Mahmoud Obeid – Syrian diplomatic attaché in Malaysia, 8 September 2012 (to Egypt) http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/13/2565688 http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/07/236700.html.
• Bashar al-Haj – Syrian diplomatic attaché in Serbia, September 2012 (?) http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/13/2565688 http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/07/236700.html.
• Youssef Assad – Syrian Air Force officer and a family relative of President Bashar Assad http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4281798,00.html.
• 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) http://dawn.com/2012/09/27/syrian-rebel-chief-abandons-uprising/.
• Jihad Makdissi – Syrian Forgein Ministry's spokesman, 2 December 2012 (to UK) https://web.archive.org/web/20121203210631/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/12/03/253157.html http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/CdaNewsFlash/0,2297,L-4315062_184,00.html.
• Adnan Salo – former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian army http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/as-damascus-battle-rages-syria-army-defector-urges-limited-nato-intervention-1.451432, 9 December 2012
• Major General Abdulaziz al-Shalal – commander of Syria's Military Police, 25 December 2012 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4324155,00.html http://www.israelhayom.co.il/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25043&hp=1&newsletter=26.12.2012.
• 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)http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-state-media-defectors-set-up-radio-station-1.1125139.
• Lama Al-Khadra – Former state-run radio station Radio Damascus Journalist, 28 December 2012 (to Paris) http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-state-media-defectors-set-up-radio-station-1.1125139
• Baddour Abdel Karim – former state-run radio station Radio Damascus Journalist, 28 December 2012 (to Paris) http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-state-media-defectors-set-up-radio-station-1.1125139
• 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]

Notes and References

1. Web site: IDF – Israel Defense Forces . July 29, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171011183544/https://www.idf.il/1283-12794-en/Dover.aspx . October 11, 2017 . live .
2. News: Syria on brink of sectarian civil war, West says. Reuters. 31 May 2012. 1 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20150905221306/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE84S0P020120531. 5 September 2015. live.
3. News: U.N. veto called 'green light' for Assad. 2012-08-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20111207015832/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/5/un-veto-called-green-light-for-troubled-syrian-reg/. 2011-12-07. live.
4. Web site: ynet החבר, הגנרל, הטייס ורה"מ. כולם בורחים מאסד – חדשות . August 8, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120810024353/http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4266153,00.html . August 10, 2012 . live .
5. News: Damascus bomb kills 25 as regime suffers high level defection – Telegraph . August 8, 2012 . London . The Daily Telegraph . Adrian . Blomfield . 6 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120313035647/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8997209/Damascus-bomb-kills-25-as-regime-suffers-high-level-defection.html . 13 March 2012 . live .
6. News: Syrian defector speaks of devastation; slams Arab League mission - CNN . July 29, 2012 . 17 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120315112153/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-17/middleeast/world_meast_syria-defector_1_syria-s-parliament-regime-al-assad?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST . 15 March 2012 . dead .
7. Web site: AFP: Syrian former defence minister Tlass in France: opposition . https://archive.today/20130124232932/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g7sa3qN_SVIMtnJ4cY9u_ypkj-DQ?docId=CNG.3e2a6b317923f10174ad9bb42adbacc4.2c1 . dead . January 24, 2013 . August 8, 2012.
8. Web site: LIWA FURSAN'S MODERATE SYRIAN FIELD COMMANDER LT. COLONEL FARES AL-BAYOUSH. Jamestown. 29 February 2016. 7 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180630001712/https://jamestown.org/brief/february-2016-briefs-free/. 30 June 2018. live.
9. News: BBC News – Syrian crisis: Assessing defector Nawaf Fares' claims . July 29, 2012 . 17 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120726212553/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18868526 . 26 July 2012 . live .
10. News: Residents flee Damascus as Syrian capital sees heaviest fighting so far in country's 'civil war' – Telegraph . July 29, 2012 . London . The Daily Telegraph . Adrian . Blomfield . 16 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120730210201/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9404173/Residents-flee-Damascus-as-Syrian-capital-sees-heaviest-fighting-so-far-in-countrys-civil-war.html . 30 July 2012 . live .
11. News: BBC News – Syria's Turkish border units 'head for Aleppo' . July 29, 2012 . 25 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728010641/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18979733 . 28 July 2012 . live .
12. News: BBC News – Syria's Turkish border units 'head for Aleppo' . July 29, 2012 . 25 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728010641/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18979733 . 28 July 2012 . live .
13. Web site: Defected Syrian general Manaf Tlas says seeks to unite opposition – Israel News . Haaretz Daily Newspaper . July 29, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728202557/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/defected-syrian-general-manaf-tlas-says-seeks-to-unite-opposition-1.453793 . July 28, 2012 . live .
14. News: Syrian parliamentarian defects to Turkey . July 29, 2012 . London . The Guardian . 27 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141028110402/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/27/syrian-politician-defects-turkey . 28 October 2014 . live .
15. Web site: Clashes continue as Syrian MP defects . Al Bawaba . July 29, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120730075128/http://www.albawaba.com/news/clashes-continue-syrian-mp-defects-435755 . July 30, 2012 . live .
16. News: Syrian Ambassador in Belarus confirmed the transition to the opposition . July 29, 2012 . . July 30, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120803101543/http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2012/7/29/55909/ . August 3, 2012 . live .
17. News: Spillius . Alex . Syrian Charge D'Affaires in London resigns . 30 July 2012 . The Telegraph . July 31, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120730224724/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9438616/Syrian-Charge-DAffaires-in-London-resigns.html . 30 July 2012 . live .
18. News: Adviser of Syrian embassy in Armenia untimely finished his mission . 31 July 2012 . . August 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130128081618/http://armenpress.am/eng/news/689120 . 28 January 2013 . live .
19. Web site: Syria's first astronaut defects to Turkey: report . ArabNews . August 5, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120805154819/http://arabnews.com/syria%E2%80%99s-first-astronaut-defects-turkey-report-0 . August 5, 2012 .
20. News: Syria Prime Minister Riad Hijab defects. BBC News. 6 August 2012. 20 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180527040125/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19146380. 27 May 2018. live.
21. News: BBC News – Syria Prime Minister Riad Hijab defects . August 8, 2012 . 6 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120807190530/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19146380 . 7 August 2012 . live .
22. Web site: Syria's UN human rights envoy defects in Geneva – ArabNews . August 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120814194947/http://arabnews.com/middle-east/syria%E2%80%99s-un-human-rights-envoy-defects-geneva . August 14, 2012 . live .
23. Web site: נענע10 – סוריה: דיפלומט בכיר ערק, המורדים חטפו 4 עיתונאים – חדשות . August 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051135/http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=917750 . March 4, 2016 . live .
24. News: Senior Syrian policeman defects: opposition – Reuters . August 14, 2012 . 12 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120814104057/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-syria-crisis-defection-idUSBRE87B08A20120812 . 14 August 2012 . live .
25. News: Arabiya says cousin of Syria VP defects, not VP. 2012-08-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20120816161722/http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=281525. 2012-08-16. live.
26. News: סוריה משתפת פעולה בעניין הנשק הכימי. 2012-08-23. 2012-08-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041926/http://www.iba.org.il/bet/?entity=867286&type=1. 2015-09-24. live.
27. Web site: Associated Press News. bigstory.ap.org. 2015-01-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20150103061127/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/syria-regime-expands-use-cluster-bombs-report. 2015-01-03. live.
28. Web site: Hamza Division: a new military formation to fight ISIL. El-Dorar. 23 April 2016 . 3 October 2020.
29. News: 23 April 2020. High-profile Syrian war crimes trial begins in Germany. Intelligence official charged with overseeing 4,000 counts of torture and 58 murders. 2021-01-03. Financial Times. subscription. Cornish. Chloe. Solomon. Erika.