ISTANBUL (AA) - Former Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib defected from Bashar al-Assad's regime, a senior opposition official in Istanbul told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
Habib was Defense Minister between 2009 and 2011 when the uprising began, and is the highest-ranking figure to defect since.
"The Alawites are becoming aware that the regime is gradually being pushed to the edge of a cliff," Ahmad Rahal of the Free Syrian Army said.
Assad hails from the Alawite community, which comprises over ten percent of the Syrian population.
On allegations that Habib is now in Turkey, Rahhal said, "We have received intelligence to that effect, but have been unable to confirm it."
Rahhal said the FSA welcomed Habib's defection, and claimed that the number of defectors would rise as the Syrian regime faces the possibility of a US-led military strike in response to last week's gas attack that the US says killed nearly 1,500 people.
"From the very beginning, we have told Alawites to stop backing the regime and separate their fate from the regime's fate. They were late to get our message," Rahhal said.
"Those who know Alawites will see how dramatically the number of defectors will rise among Alawites living in Latakia and Tartus.
"We encourage everyone, no matter if Alawite, Sunni, or Christian, to leave the Assad regime."
