Watch Live: Congressional Hearing on IRS Scandal

Live BlazeCast at 2pm ET: All the fireworks from the IRS Hearing!

World

Report: Top Syrian General Changes Sides to Join ‘the People’s Revolution’

Dec. 26, 2012 8:04am Liz Klimas

General Serving Syrian President Bashar Assad Joins Opposition Forces

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal (Image: YouTube screenshot)

BEIRUT (TheBlaze/AP) — The general who heads Syria’s military police has defected and joined the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime, one of the highest walkouts by a serving security chief during the country’s 21-month uprising, a pan Arab TV station has reported.

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal appeared in a video aired on Al Arabiya TV late Tuesday saying he is joining “the people’s revolution.”

Watch the footage posted on YouTube (via CNN):

Al-Shallal’s defection comes as military pressure builds on the regime, with government bases falling to rebel assault near the capital Damascus and elsewhere across the country. On Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government shelling in the northeastern province of Raqqa killed at least 20 people, including women and children.

Dozens of generals have defected since Syria’s crisis began in March 2011. In July, Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass was the first member of Assad’s inner circle to break ranks and join the opposition.

Al-Shallal is one of the most senior and held a top post at the time that he left. He said in the video that the “army has derailed from its basic mission of protecting the people and it has become a gang for killing and destruction.” He accused the military of “destroying cities and villages and committing massacres against our innocent people who came out to demand freedom.”

Thousands of Syrian soldiers have defected over the past 21 months and many of them are now fighting against government forces. Many have cited attacks on civilians as the reason they switched sides.

The Observatory said the shelling in an agricultural area of Raqqa province near the village of Qahtaniyeh killed 20, including eight children, three women and nine others.

An amateur video showed the bodies of a dozen people including children lying in a row inside a room. Some of them had blood on their clothes, while weeping could be heard in the background.

The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

Also Wednesday, activists said rebels were attacking the Wadi Deif military base in the northern province of Idlib. The base, which is near the strategic town of Maaret al-Numan, has been under siege for weeks.

The Observatory said at least five rebels were killed in the fighting that started after midnight. It added that Syrian army warplanes attacked rebel positions in the areas.

“It is the heaviest fighting in the area in months,” said the Observatory, which relies on activists throughout Syria.

In October, rebels captured Maaret al-Numan, a town on on the highway that links the capital Damascus with Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and a major battleground in the civil war since July.

The attack on Wadi Deif comes a day after rebels captured the town of Harem near the Turkish border. The rebels have captured wide areas and military posts in northern Syria over the past weeks.

Syria’s crisis began with protests demanding reforms but later turned into a civil war. Anti-regime activists estimate more than 40,000 have died in the past 21 months. Pope Benedict XVI mentioned embattled Syria during his Christmas Eve mass.

In neighboring Lebanon, airport officials in Beirut said Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous flew early Wednesday to Moscow.

Their visit to Moscow comes two days after Assad met in Damascus with international envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. Brahimi, who is scheduled to go to Moscow before the end of the month, said after the talks Monday that the situation was “worrying” and gave no indication of progress toward a negotiated solution for the civil war.

Brahimi is still in Syria and met Tuesday with representatives of the opposition National Coordination Body, state-run news agency SANA said. Head of the group Hassan Abdul-Azim said Brahimi briefed them on the efforts he is exerting to reach an “international consensus, especially between Russia and the United Stated to reach a solution.”

Rajaa al-Naser, NCB’s spokesman, said his group has put forward proposals adding that there would be no exit but through halting violence and forming a “transitional government with full prerogatives.”

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (20)

dwilco77
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 5:36pm
Are not our Generals supposed to “Defend our Constitution against enemies, both foreign and domestic”?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Coloradozo
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 6:02pm
  I know right? I think he sees the writing on the wall. Perhaps he hopes to become the next “El presidenta’” when it’s all said and done.
  
  Report this comment
DadRocked
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 10:58am
Just covering his backside for a position in the upcoming government… His beliefs have NOTHING to do with this… Just covering his bases.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
hauschild
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:57am
Another laughable action.

It’s hilarious. These people cannot live in peace – it’s not in their genetic makeup. Yet, some foolish story such as this comes out and everybody reacts like Utopia has been achieved – freedom at last. These people cannot and will never be free because true freedom is not in their blood. They’re like leftists, who constantly need nudging or brute force in order to function in any productive capacity.

These people are nuts, period. How many more times do we have to play this idiotic, un-winnable game of Middle East Freedom? I swear, it’s just like Charlie Brown as Lucy pulls the proverbial football away and Charlie is left flat on his back wondering why he is such a lemming idiot.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- searcher619
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 10:20am
  “It’s hilarious. These people cannot live in peace – it’s not in their genetic makeup. ”
  
  You seem to LOVE to show off how much of an idiot you are. They are going through what people in the developed world went through to obtain the relatively peaceful democratic government we enjoy today. Your comment is a stunning show of ignorance. No democracy on the planet had a peaceful bloodless birth. Each and every single one saw the people fighting those who would oppress them. Those in power never give up that power easily nor do they ever leave willingly. You should learn history.
  
  Report this comment
- hauschild
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 10:39am
  Do you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, also???
  
  Report this comment
- Free_Thought
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 12:55pm
  When was the last time america wasnt involved in conflict and looked at as a peaceful country? Look in the mirror pal. We arent exactly known as a peaceful country around the world or at home even. Your ignorance is hopefully bliss.
  
  Report this comment
- hauschild
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 1:42pm
  So, an Average American is equivalent to an average Middle Easterner in your view??? Or, America is no better off than Syria for God’s sakes??? What kinda dope you on, pal?!?!?
  
  The sheer idiocy in this thread is palpable.
  
  Report this comment
SamIamTwo
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:47am
This is typical of the Arab way of fighting…when things get bad…take off your uniform and join the winning side…messed up, eh? You want to let this guy in on your side…a man who perhaps is responsible for killing thousands of civilian??

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Walkabout
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:24am
You got to wonder if those bodies shown on the video were not Kurdish,Yazidi or Christian.

If you are having a hard time winning, why would you shell civilians instead of enemy bases or troops concentrations?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
VanGrungy
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:19am
Obviously trying to feed the Muslim Brotherhood crocodile…

The writing is on the wall, nothing will stop the Caliphate reforming

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- hauschild
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 11:11am
  “nothing will stop the Caliphate reforming”
  
  Short of a glass parking lot, that is.
  
  Report this comment
johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 8:36am
I just hate to think of Bashar al Assad’s exit strategy.

He’s seen what happened to Mubarak, Gadhafi, et al, since George Bush’s “Alliance of Youth Movement” spawned this “Arab Spring.”

Me thinks that Bashar and his big brother Ahmadinejad, may have a real fianle planned for this drama. Maybe a dirty bomb in Tel Aviv? Perhaps a suitcase nuke for NYC? Obammie may get his Christmas wish for global chaos after all!

“Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- mrunner
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 8:59am
  Unfortunately, I believe you are right. I just hope when the time comes here in the states- our great military will remember their oathe and align with the citizens- if they have not been completed gutted by this corrupt administation first. As for “Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!” – I, for one, will never forget.
  
  Report this comment
Mandors
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 8:33am
Looks like one of our guys got his cover blown.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 8:31am
So which in the end will be worse: Assad the dictator we know, or a Sharia fanatic leading Syria who is bent on making the extermination of Israel and the return of the Caliphate a reality?

Of course, Obama is arming the terrorists, so his choice (treasonous at that) is well known already.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
KingCanon
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 8:08am
This sounds a little fishy to me. Hmmmmmm.
Reminds of the time our troops were amBUSHed from the rear during Desert Storm.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Walkabout
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:19am
  Who were ambushed in Desert Storm from the rear?
  
  190 killed by enemy action, 44 killed by friendly fire, 248 killed by in-theater accidents. Total: 482 Killed
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War
  
  There were not that many people killed. It should not take long to verify that the numbers don’t add up. I believe some died during some Scud attacks on the air bases in the rear.
  
  http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/timeline/fast_facts.htm
  http://usmilitary.about.com/od/warsgulf/l/bldesertstorm.htm
  
  Report this comment
- KingCanon
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:28am
  Many, I repeat many, passed over or by as friendly.
  Attire in those days was as confusing as Father’s Day in a rabbit village.
  
  Report this comment
- Walkabout
  Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:54am
  At a 190 killed by enemy fire, 44 killed by friendly fire & 482 killed by accidents, you should be abler to identify those ambushed by name or at least unit & give the time & place of the ambush.
  
  Or was there a cover up & nothing made it around the military grapevine?
  ***
  
  One cover up I expect is if soldiers get killed in Syria, the press will absolutely cover it up & not demand pictures of the caskets coming off the airplanes at Andrews. I cannot imagine CBR troops embedded with the rebels near the Al-Safira not being killed by Syrian Scuds or other artillery. they have to be fairly near the front line in case the base is overrun in order to secure the weapons.
  But with a Democrat Administration the press has lost interest in blaring daily troop bodycounts.
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.