Syria’s deputy oil minister Abdo Hussameddin reportedly defects

The deputy oil minister would be the highest-ranking official to abandon Bashar Assad’s regime. Meanwhile, peace envoy Kofi Annan urges a political solution to the crisis.

Syria’s deputy oil minister reportedly defected from the government of Bashar Assad on Thursday, and a high-level international peace envoy seeking a cease-fire in Syria warned against further “militarization” of the bloody conflict.

from By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

via http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-defect-20120309,0,4794463.story?track=rss