Defecting Syrian PM took job under threat

BEIRUT -- Prime Minister Riad Hijab began planning his break from the Syrian regime two months ago, when President Bashar Assad offered him the post and an ultimatum: Take the job or die.

The full scope of Hijab's carefully executed flight to the rebel side, described by an aide who escaped with him to Jordan, reverberated yesterday through Syria's leadership. Hijab became the highest-ranking government official to defect, emboldening the opposition and raising fresh questions about the regime's ability to survive the civil war.

Although Assad has been hit by a string of embarrassing defections of military and political figures, they have yet to cause visible changes in the regime's abilities on the battlefield. The loss of high-profile government officials, however, suggests fissures are reaching deeper into the ruling system and could force Assad to retreat further behind a cadre of loyalists as fighting flares on several fronts.

"Every defection is another door closed for Assad and another one open for the rebels," said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center, based in Geneva. "It may not be the tipping point for the regime, but each breakaway is another crack."

Hijab and family members were expected to head next to Qatar, a key backer of the Syrian rebels, in a further sign of the regional brinkmanship and gambits over Assad's fate. Gulf states and Turkey have strongly backed the rebel forces while Assad has counted on support from a dwindling list of allies, such as Iran and Russia.

Ahmad Kassim, a senior official with the rebel Free Syrian Army, said Hijab defected along with three other ministers, but later he said two other ministers had left. There has been no confirmation from Syria or any other source on any others.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said "Assad's days are numbered." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to arrive in Turkey later this week for meetings on Syria.

Hijab was long a loyalist of Assad's Baath Party, rising through the ranks to become agriculture minister last year. After elections in June, Hijab was picked as the new prime minister. About that time, his loyalties began to shift and a plan to flee began, Hijab's spokesman, Mohammad Otari, told The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan.