Raw Video: Senior Syrian Minister Defects to Rebels

March 08, 2012 from Telegraph.co.uk

Abdo Hussameddin, Syria's deputy oil minister, has announced his resignation in a video posted online, saying he will be joining the anti-government revolt against Bashar al-Assad. In a message addressed to Syria's president, he said: "You brought a year of sadness and misery to those you claim to be your people and deprived them from basic needs and humanity, and brought the country to the brink of disaster though your stubbornness and arrogance." Hussameddin is the most senior member of Assad's government to defect to the opposition.

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Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Abdo Hussameddin

Abdo Hussameddin was Syria's Deputy Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources until he announced his resignation in a video message posted to the internet on March 8, 2012. He explained his decision to defect to the Syrian opposition in a message addressed to President Bash... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Defection

In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as ... Explore this topic

Resignation

A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term is not considered resignation. When an... Explore this topic

Politics of Syria

Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of what is officially a parliamentary republic, but what is considered an authoritarian government where the power is in the hands of the President of Syria and his family, all members of the ruling Arab Sociali... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Government minister

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. Some ministers are more senior than others, and are usually members of the government's c... Explore this topic

Raw video

"Raw video" is a term used to describe unedited or minimally edited video footage, often used in a news context. It can include user-generated content, live video feeds (such as from a news helicopter or camera crew), footage obtained from a security camera, and more. Raw vide... Explore this topic

Also See

Bashar al-Assad

Abdo Hussameddin

Syrian Civil War