Syria’s former Prime Minister, the highest profile government figure to defect, yesterday said the regime was collapsing and controlled barely a third of the conflict-wracked country.
The Assad regime only controls 30% of Syria’s territory
“The Syrian regime only controls 30 per cent of Syria’s territory. It has collapsed militarily, economically and morally,” Riad Hijab told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman.
Mr Hijab fled to Jordan last week, the latest in a string of defections from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which is becoming increasingly embattled as the 17-month conflict shows no signs of abating.
The United States, which has imposed a raft of tough sanctions to try to force Mr Assad’s departure, reacted by lifting an asset freeze imposed on Mr Hijab.
“The United States encourages other officials within the Syrian government, in both the political and military ranks, to take similarly courageous steps to reject the Assad regime and stand with the Syrian people,” Treasury official David Cohen said.
Western policymakers hope that a wave of defections will force the collapse of the autocratic government, ending a conflict that seems to be in stalemate, with the international community deeply divided over what action to take.
In another blow, rebels claimed on Monday they had shot down a Syrian fighter jet and captured its pilot as it battles escalating air attacks by government forces, particularly in the key northern city of Aleppo.
President Assad was shaken last month when four top security officials at the heart of his Alawite inner circle were killed in a bomb attack in Damascus claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army.
“Syria is full of officials and military leaders who are awaiting the right moment to join the revolt,” Mr Hijab said, urging the fractured opposition to unite.
Although a number of senior figures have abandoned the regime, analysts say until military units begin to defect en masse, the Assad family and the top echelon of the military and security services will remain intact.
Mr Hijab’s comments came as fresh fighting for control of key districts of Aleppo erupted while Syrian forces bombarded areas around Damascus and launched a new security operation in the capital, a human rights watchdog said.
Pro-government daily Al-Watan said the capture of Salaheddin in Aleppo was but a “first step” in the retaking of all rebel-held areas of the city.
The metropolis of some 2.7 million people – where communications have been cut for at least three days – is seen as pivotal to the outcome of the conflict, with some referring to it as Syria’s Benghazi, the Libyan city at the heart of the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
In Damascus, security forces raided several districts after a major security operation on Monday, while several suburbs outside the capital were shelled, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A total of 46 people were killed nationwide on Tuesday, it said.
The conflict has killed more than 23,000 people since March last year, according to the Observatory, while the UN says more than one million people have been displaced and another 140,000 have fled to Syria’s neighbours.