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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Syria military police chief defects to rebels | Syria military police chief defects to rebels |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The head of Syria's military police has defected from the army and declared allegiance to the uprising against the president, Bashar al-Assad, according to a video and a Syrian security source. | The head of Syria's military police has defected from the army and declared allegiance to the uprising against the president, Bashar al-Assad, according to a video and a Syrian security source. |
| The news came as government shelling in the northern province of Raqqa killed about 20 people, at least eight of them children, according to a video posted by activists on Wednesday. | The news came as government shelling in the northern province of Raqqa killed about 20 people, at least eight of them children, according to a video posted by activists on Wednesday. |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published a video showing rows of the blood-stained bodies laid out on blankets. The sound of crying relatives could be heard in the background. | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published a video showing rows of the blood-stained bodies laid out on blankets. The sound of crying relatives could be heard in the background. |
| The shelling hit the province's al-Qahtania village, but it was unclear when the attack happened. | The shelling hit the province's al-Qahtania village, but it was unclear when the attack happened. |
| The high-level defection, while not a strategically significant development in the 21-month-old conflict, will be a blow to morale for Assad's forces, which are hitting back at a string of rebel advances across the country. | The high-level defection, while not a strategically significant development in the 21-month-old conflict, will be a blow to morale for Assad's forces, which are hitting back at a string of rebel advances across the country. |
| "I am General Abdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, head of the military police. I have defected because of the deviation of the army from its primary duty of protecting the country and its transformation into gangs of killing and destruction," the officer said in a video published on YouTube. | "I am General Abdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, head of the military police. I have defected because of the deviation of the army from its primary duty of protecting the country and its transformation into gangs of killing and destruction," the officer said in a video published on YouTube. |
| A Syrian security source confirmed the defection but played down its significance. "Shalal did defect but he was due to retire in a month and he only defected to play hero," the source said. | |
| Wearing a camouflage uniform with red officer insignia on the shoulder, Shalal spoke from a desk in a room in an undisclosed location. Some rebel sources said he had fled to Turkey. It was not clear when Shalal had changed sides. | Wearing a camouflage uniform with red officer insignia on the shoulder, Shalal spoke from a desk in a room in an undisclosed location. Some rebel sources said he had fled to Turkey. It was not clear when Shalal had changed sides. |
| "The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom," he said. "Long live free Syria." | "The army has destroyed cities and villages and has committed massacres against an unarmed population that took to the streets to demand freedom," he said. "Long live free Syria." |