During the rule of the

al-Assad family The al-Assad family ( ar, عَائِلَة الْأَسَد '), also known as the Assad dynasty, has ruled Syria since General Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 under the Ba'ath Party. After his death, in June 2000, he was suc ...

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 Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

)

During Bashar al-Assad rule

* Hussam Awak,

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

and

Air Force Intelligence Directorate The Air Force Intelligence Directorate ( ar, إدارة المخابرات الجوية, ''Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya'') is an intelligence service of Syria, possibly the country's most powerful, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role ...

officer, claims to have defected in 2005, though others argue that he only joined the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

out of opportunism

Syrian civil war

* Bassim Al Khaled/ بسيم الخالد

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

, defected in June 2011 * Mohammad Bassam Imadi, Former Ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

– 2011 * Abdul Razzaq Tlass, former Syrian

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, defected in June 2011, one of the founders of the

Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade The Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade ( ar, لواء خالد بن الوليد), originally called the Khalid ibn al-Walid Battalion ( ar, كتيبة خالد بن الوليد), was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army which wa ...

in August 2011, and founder and commander of the

Farouq Brigades The Farouq Brigades ( ar, كتائب الفاروق), also spelt Farooq and Farook, was an armed rebel organisation formed by a number of Homs based members of the Free Syrian Army early in the Syrian Civil War. The group rapidly expanded in siz ...

, October 2011–October 2012 * Riad al-Asaad, former

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

, and current commander of the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

, July 2011 * Mustafa Al-Sheikh, former General in the Secret Police force, and former head of the

– 6 January 2012 * Imad Ghalioun, parliamentarian for

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

- January 2012 (to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

) *

Abdo Hussameddin Abdo Hussameddin (born 1954) is a Syrian politician and former government minister. He was aide to the oil minister from August 2009 to 7 March 2012, when he became the highest-ranking government minister to defect to the opposition from Bashar a ...

, Deputy Oil Minister – 7 March 2012 *

Firas Tlass Firas Tlass ( ar, فِرَاس طَلَاس, Firās Ṭalās; born 20 August 1960) is a Syrian businessman and a member of a significant Sunni family who had close relations with former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, but defected to the rebel ...

, son of Mustafa Tlass, the former defence minister under

Hafez al Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 197 ...

– 12 March 2012 (to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) *

Hassan Hamada Hassan Hamada ( ar, حسن حمادة, born c. 1968), full name Hassan Mirei al-Hamada ( ar, حسن ميري آل حمادة،), also spelled as Hammadeh, is a former colonel in the Syrian Air Force who, together with his MiG-21, defected to Jord ...

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

Colonel – 2012 (to

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

) *

Fares Bayoush Fares Bayoush ( ar, فارس البيوش, born 1970) is a former lieutenant colonel in the Syrian Arab Air Force who defected to the Free Syrian Army in 2012. Military activities in the Syrian Air Force In 1990, Fares Bayoush joined a Syrian ...

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

lieutenant colonel – July 2012 * Manaf Tlass,

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of the

Syrian Republican Guard The Syrian Republican Guard ( ar, الْحَرَسُ الْجُمْهُورِيُّ, ''al-Ḥaras al-Jumhūriyy''), also known as the Presidential Guard, is an elite 25,000 man mechanized division, although it may actually approach corps size wi ...

– 2012 (to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, later

) *

Nawaf al-Fares Nawaf al-Fares ( ar, نواف فارس الصياح ) is the former Syrian ambassador to Iraq who defected from the ruling government led by Bashar al-Assad on 11 July 2012 during the Syrian uprising. Career Fares was a veteran of Assad's rule ...

, Ambassador to Iraq – 2012 (In

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, later moved to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

) * Adnan Silu, Major General and former head of Syria's chemical weapons program – July 2012 defected to the opposition. * Abdelatif al-Dabbagh, Ambassador to the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, July 2012 (to

) * Lamia al-Hariri, niece of Syrian vice president

Farouk al-Sharaa Farouk al-Sharaa ( ar, فاروق الشرع; born 10 December 1938) is a Syrian politician and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent officials in the Syrian government and served as foreign minister of Syria from 1984 until 2006 when he beca ...

, Envoy to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, – July 2012 (to

) * Mohammad Tahseen Faqir, military attaché at the Syrian embassy in Oman – July 2012 * Ikhlas al-Badawi,

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

MP, a

Ba'athist Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation a ...

and an Assad loyalist, defected to

with her six children – July 2012 * Farouk Taha, Ambassador to

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. Fled to Belarus in the spring, but did not publicize his defection before late July. * 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. *

Mohammad Hussam Hafez Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

, Consul at the Syrian embassy in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

– July 2012. * General

Muhammed Faris Muhammed Ahmed Faris ( ar, محمد أحمد فارس, ''Muḥammad ʾAḥmad Fāris''; born 26 May 1951) is a Syrian military aviator. He was the first Syrian and the second Arab in space. Career Born in Aleppo, Syria, he was a pilot in the Sy ...

, a military aviator who became the first Syrian in space, defects to Turkey. *

Riyad Farid Hijab Riyad Farid Hijab ( ar, رياض فريد حجاب, Riyāḍ Farīd Ḥijāb; born 1966) is a Syrian politician. He was Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012, serving under President Bashar al-Assad. From 2011 to 2012, he was Minister ...

– Syrian Prime minister, August 2012. * Mohammad al Jililati – Finance Minister, reported to have been arrested while trying to defect. 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 The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

, defects to Geneva, 11 July 2012 * Brigadier General Ibrahim al-Jabawi – deputy police commander for the central Syrian province of Homs, 12 July 2012 (to

) *

Salim Idris Salim Idris ( ar, سلیم ادریس ''Salīm Idrīs'') (born 1958) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Syrian National Army, a Syrian armed opposition group. He has a PhD in "electronic radars" and spea ...

– was a general in the Syrian Police Force when he defected in July 201

https://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 The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

. * Yaroub al-Shara – cousin of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara. *

Naser al-Hariri Naser al-Hariri () was a former member of the People's Council of Syria from Daraa. Along with fellow parliamentarian Khalil al-Rifaei, also from Daraa, he resigned from his seat in protest at the "continued killings of protesters during the 2 ...

– Former member of the

People's Council of Syria The People's Assembly ( ar, مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ) is Syria's legislative authority. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. There are two main political fronts; the National Progressive Fron ...

from

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

, 23 August 2012 (to

) *

Mohamed Moussa al-Khairat Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

– Commander of the seventh division within the Syrian Police Force, 25 August 2012 (to

* Muhammad Khayr al-Hariri – Former Syrian MP and tribal chief of the southern

region, 27 August (to

* Abdullah Al-Omar – Director of several pro-government Syrian Channels, September 201

* Mohammad Fares – a Syrian Pilo

* Awad Ahmed al-Ali – head of the security branch in Damascus, September 2012 (to

* Emad al-Ahmar – Syrian Consul in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

8 September 2012 (to

* Mahmoud Obeid – Syrian diplomatic attaché in

, 8 September 2012 (to

Bashar al-Haj Bashar (Arabic: ) is a given name, surname, and place name. Bashar may refer to: Places * Bashar, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Bashar, Plateau State, a village in the Wase local Government Area of Plateau State In Nigeria * Béchar, ...

– Syrian diplomatic attaché in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, September 2012 (?

* Youssef Assad –

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

officer and a family relative of President

Bashar Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the S ...

br>
* Khaled Abdul Rahman al Zamel – a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

who initially defected to join the opposition forces, and in late September 2012 called on to abandon the insurgency against President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

(accompanied by around 10 other former rebels

* Jihad Makdissi – Syrian Forgein Ministry's spokesman, 2 December 2012 (to UK

* Adnan Salo – former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian arm

9 December 2012 * Major General Abdulaziz al-Shalal – commander of Syria's Military Police, 25 December 201

* Kamal Jamal Beyk – Former director of programming at the official SANA radio and the SANA online news website in Damascus, 28 December 2012 (to

br>
* Lama Al-Khadra – Former state-run radio station

Radio Damascus Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

Journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, 28 December 2012 (to

* Baddour Abdel Karim – former state-run radio station

, 28 December 2012 (to

*Maj. Gen Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf – chief of supplies and logistics of

Syrian Armed Police Forces Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both ind ...

, 16 March 2013 (to

). *

Sayf Balud A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...

– former First Lieutenant in the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

Anwar Raslan Anwar Raslan (; born 3 February 1963) is a former Syrian colonel who led a unit of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate. In January 2022, he was convicted of crimes against humanity in a German Higher Regional Court under universal jurisdict ...

- 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 Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

in a German Higher Regional Court.

References

{{reflist

Defectors In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...