Syrian Ambassador to UAE has defected, SNC says

[Al Bhatti]

Jul 25, 2012

Syrian Ambassador to UAE has defected, SNC says

The Syrian Ambassador to the UAE has defected, members of the Syrian National Council in the UAE claim.

Abdel Latif Dabbagh's defection comes a day after his wife Lamia Al Hariri, the Syrian Ambassador to Cyprus, announced her defection.

"We have been in contact over the last period with him, setting up the right time for the announcement," said Shadi Al Khesh, an SNC member.

"He was not ready to announce it now but pressure mounted after his wife defected and the Syrian media assaulted her and called her a prostitute."

Mr Al Khesh added that, currently, arrangements are being made for other Syrian ambassadors around the world to defect but logistical issues are yet to be resolved.

"A large number of ambassadors are ready to defect however various issues - such as their families back home and political assurances from the countries they are in - have yet to be finalised," said Mr Al Khesh.

"Mr Dabbagh has been in contact with Syrian National Council Members in the UAE and abroad. The last time I spoke to him was a few weeks back."

The announcement of his defection was made from Cyprus, where he travelled to be alongside his wife when she made her announcement.

Mrs Al Hariri, according to Mr Khesh, has since travelled to Qatar. It is unknown if Mr Dabbagh joined her or returned to the UAE, however officials at the Syrian embassy in Abu Dhabi claimed he was in Qatar.

SNC member Ghassan Aboud told The National from Berlin today that within the next few days more announcements will be made.

Mrs Al Hariri said earlier today the ambassadors in three other countries in Europe had already defected but have not announced anything yet due to fears.

Mr Aboud said the SNC is currently working on political assurances for the ambassadors and their families.

"We will release news of more ambassadors by the end of this week," he said.

Syrian Ambassador to UAE has defected, SNC says - The National

 

[Roybot]

Another nail in Assad's coffin. This is the second ambassador to have defected.

Syrian ambassador to Iraq defects to join revolt

Syrian ambassador to UAE defects: TV - Xinhua | English.news.cn

 

[Al Bhatti]

Some news say that the Syrian ambassador to Cyprus has also defected.

 

[IZVINITE]

AMMAN - Syria's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates has defected to Qatar, becoming the third senior diplomat to join the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad since the revolt began, a spokesman for the Syrian National Council said on Wednesday.

"The ambassador (Abdelatif al-Dabbagh) is now in Qatar," Mohamed Sarmini told Reuters by telephone.
Meanwhile, Syria's envoy to Cyprus Lamia al-Hariri has defected and is now in Qatar, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said on Wednesday.
"Yes, she has defected and is in Doha," SNC member Wael Merza told Reuters by phone.
In Cyprus, government officials said they had no information on whether Hariri had defected. "All we are aware of is that she is not in Cyprus," a senior source told Reuters.
Separately, two sources in the Syrian opposition movement told Reuters Hariri had left the diplomatic mission in Nicosia on Tuesday, telling staff she was feeling unwell and was going to a doctor.

http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/ind...mbassador to Emirates, envoy to Cyprus defect'

 

[xyxmt]

lol, I salute the guy in CIA who designed this overthrowing on weak third world dictators. plays exactly the same what everywhere

 

[Alienoz_TR]

lol, I salute the guy in CIA who designed this overthrowing on weak third world dictators. plays exactly the same what everywhere

Who's next? Turkey? Iran? Pakistan?

 

[IZVINITE]

Apparently, Iran. Turkey & US are allies, I don't see a reason why US would Like to Do that..

 

[Alienoz_TR]

Apparently, Iran. Turkey & US are allies, I don't see a reason why US would Like to Do that..

Kurds & US are allies. Things have changed when you were not around.

 

[Al Bhatti]

July 25, 2012

Syrian Ambassador to UAE defects

Al Dabbagh joins his envoy wife in Doha

Abdul Latif Al Dabbagh, Syrian Ambassador to the UAE, has defected and is currently in Doha Qatar to join his wife, Lamya Hariri, Syrian ambassador to Cyprus, who defected on Tuesday.

Dabbagh, who is originally from Amouda, which is a Kurdish town in Hasakeh governorate, has been planning to make this move since the inception of the political turmoil in Syria, a former Syrian official who declined to be named told the Gulf News.

“As far as I know Dabbagh, he became anti-regime in the aftermath of the mass killing of children in southern parts of Syria; yet, the decision was not easy to take until he settled the living conditions of his family members,” the official said.

“This incident was a sign of protest on the massacres committed against civilians,” the official remarked.

His wife, Lamya Hariri, daughter of major general Mohammad Al Dhakil Al Hariri, former head of the immigration department, also defected on Tuesday and left Cyprus to Doha to joint her husband and children. She is from Abta town in Dera’a governorate.

Hariri has been at the Syrian Embassy since November 2010. She is understood to have left on a flight from Larnaca International Airport to Dubai for a holiday, then flown to Qatar at some point over the past few days.

She has become the second Syrian diplomat to quit and flee to Qatar.

Both Dabbagh and Hariri are expected to be interviewed by Al Jazeera TV.

Syria’s ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf Al Fares has defected from the Syrian government on July 12 and announced that he will support the opposition in a protest against the “suppression of protests” in Syria.

Al Fares is a tribal chieftain and one of the most prominent officials who defected from the Syrian government after Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, son of former Syrian Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas announced his defect.

Arab foreign ministers had announced in November 2011 suspending the membership of Syrian in the Arab League in a bid to resolve the crisis the warn torn country which resulted in a call to withdraw Arab ambassadors from the Syrian capital, Damascus

Influx of refugees to Jordan:

Nayef Al Zidan, Jordan’s ambassador to the UAE, told the Gulf News: “We have about 140,000 refugees. The refugees are either Syrian or non-Syrians who were living in the country.”

Al Zidan warned that “if political unrest continues, we expect to receive about a million refugees from Syria.”

“We deal with this issue from a humanitarian aspect, but at the same time all have a responsibility to protect Jordan from any violations. The influx of Syrians places a pressure on Jordan’s already limited resources,” the ambassador stressed.

He added that Jordan did not officially open a camp for Syrian refugees. But NGOs across the kingdom have been leading efforts to provide the Syrians with accommodation, food and health care services.

“We have repeatedly appealed for help from the international community to provide services for the Syrians in Jordan since every refugee cost more than US$100 per day,” concluded the ambassador.

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-ambassador-to-uae-defects-1.1053545