Over 10,000 soldiers have deserted Syria army, says high-ranking defector

[bemildred]

Source: Reuters, DPA

Colonel Riad Assaad, a high-ranking defector from the Syrian military, told Reuters on Friday that more than 10,000 soldiers have deserted the Syrian army and defectors are attacking security police who enforce loyalty to President Bashar Assad.

Guerrilla-style attacks were concentrating on Military and Air Force Intelligence, secret police personnel entrusted with preventing mutiny in the military, who have been behind some of the biggest attacks on pro-democracy protesters, Colonel Assaad told Reuters.

"They have a major role behind the military units and on roadblocks to shoot soldiers who disobey orders," Asaad said by telephone from an undisclosed location on the Syrian-Turkish border. Insurgent operations had "improved markedly in quality" in the last week, he said.

Asaad said fighting had also taken place with army forces but that defectors had been trying not to engage the military to help rally support for their cause.

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/over-10-000-soldiers-have-deserted-syria-army-says-high-ranking-defector-1.387494

[YellowCosmicSun]

1. Assad is now assured the same fate as Gadhafi. It is only a matter of time now.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[No Elephants]

3. Courage! Stick together. Take your country.

Maybe, one day, we'll do the same.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The article says that the Syrian army has 200,000 men

So that's a sizable chunk.

[OnlinePoker]

6. 747,000 if you count active, reserve and paramilitary according to wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_troops

[DavidDvorkin]

8. That does change the picture.

[buckrogers1965]

5. It is one thing to have deserters.

It is quite a different thing to have the deserters attacking elements of the government.

Trained military personnel targeting elements that support the dictator will quickly bring down the government.

Hopefully whatever replaces it will be better.

[Muskypundit]

7. Where did the people go that would claim

All those deserters and protesters all on the cia payroll?

[DavidDvorkin]

9. I guess they can't tear themselves away from Libya.