During the rule of the

al-Assad family The Assad family ruled Syria from 1971, when Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria, president under the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction), Ba'ath Party following the Corrective Movement (Syria), 1970 coup, until Bashar al-Assad was Fal ...

and the Syrian Civil War, a number of prominent Syrian figures have defected to either the rebellion or to other countries:

During Hafez al-Assad rule

* Bassam Adal – 1989 (to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

)

During Bashar al-Assad rule

* Hussam Awak,

Syrian Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

and Air Force Intelligence Directorate officer, claims to have defected in 2005, though others argue that he only joined the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

out of opportunism

Syrian civil war

* Mohib Omar al-Jadaan,

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

* Bassim Al Khaled,

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, defected in June 2011 * Mohammad Bassam Imadi, Former Ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

– 2011 * Abdul Razzaq Tlass, former Syrian

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, defected in June 2011, one of the founders of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade in August 2011, and founder and commander of the Farouq Brigades, October 2011–October 2012 * Riad al-Asaad, former

in the

, and former commander of the

, July 2011 * Mustafa Al-Sheikh, former General in the Secret Police force, and former head of the

– 6 January 2012 * Imad Ghalioun, parliamentarian for

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

– January 2012 (to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

) * Abdo Hussameddin, Deputy Oil Minister – 7 March 2012 * Firas Tlass, son of

Mustafa Tlass Mustafa Abdul Qadir Tlass (; 11 May 1932 – 27 June 2017) was a Syrian military officer, author, historian and politician who was Ba'athist Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004. He was part of the four-member Regional Command during th ...

, the former defence minister under

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

– 12 March 2012 (to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) * Hassan Hamada,

Colonel – 2012 (to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

) * Fares Bayoush,

lieutenant colonel – July 2012 * Manaf Tlass, Brigadier General of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

– 2012 (to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, later

) * Nawaf al-Fares, Ambassador to Iraq – 2012 (In

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, later moved to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

) * Adnan Silu, Major General and former head of Syria's chemical weapons program – July 2012 defected to the opposition. * Abdelatif al-Dabbagh, Ambassador to the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

, July 2012 (to

) * Lamia al-Hariri, niece of Syrian vice president

Farouk al-Sharaa Farouk al-Sharaa (born 10 December 1938) is a Syrian politician and diplomat. He was one of the most prominent officials in the Ba'athist Syria#Politics and government, government of Ba'athist Syria and served as foreign minister from 1984 to 20 ...

, Envoy to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, – July 2012 (to

) * Mohammad Tahseen Faqir, military attaché at the Syrian embassy in Oman – July 2012 * Ikhlas al-Badawi,

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

MP, a

Ba'athist Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology ...

and an Assad loyalist, defected to

with her six children – July 2012 * Farouk Taha, Ambassador to

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Fled to Belarus in the spring, but did not publicize his defection before late July. * Khaled al-Ayoubi, Chargé d'affaires at the embassy to the United Kingdom and most senior diplomat in the country after higher officials were expelled. – July 2012. * Mohammad Hussam Hafez, Consul at the Syrian embassy in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

– July 2012. * General Muhammed Faris, a military aviator who became the first Syrian in space, defects to Turkey. * Riyad Farid Hijab – Syrian Prime minister, August 2012. * Mohammad al Jililati – Finance Minister, reported to have been arrested while trying to defect. Denied by the Syrian state TV, which said Mr Jililati was still in his office working as usual, and it broadcast what it said was a phone interview with him denying reports that he had been detained. * Danny al-Baaj – Syria's representative at the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

, defects to Geneva, 11 July 2012 * Brigadier General Ibrahim al-Jabawi – deputy police commander for the central Syrian province of Homs, 12 July 2012 (to

) * Salim Idris – Former general in the Syrian Police Force when he defected in July 201

Formerly served as the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

. * Yaroub al-Shara – cousin of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara. * Naser al-Hariri – Former member of the

People's Council of Syria Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a People's Assembly (, ) is expected to be formed in Syria. During the Ba'athist era, the assembly consisted of 250 members elected for four-year terms across 15 multi-seat constituencies ...

from Daraa, 23 August 2012 (to

) *

Mohamed Moussa al-Khairat Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

– Commander of the seventh division within the Syrian Police Force, 25 August 2012 (to

) * Muhammad Khayr al-Hariri – Former Syrian MP and tribal chief of the southern Daraa region, 27 August (to

) * Abdullah Al-Omar – Director of several pro-government Syrian Channels, September 2012

http://reshet.tv/%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/News/Abroad/ArabWorld/Article,105941.aspx] * Mohammad Fares – a Syrian Pilot

* Awad Ahmed al-Ali – head of the security branch in Damascus, September 2012 (to

) * Emad al-Ahmar – Syrian Consul in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

8 September 2012 (to

). * Mahmoud Obeid – Syrian diplomatic attaché in

, 8 September 2012 (to

). * Bashar al-Haj – Syrian diplomatic attaché in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, September 2012 (?) * Youssef Assad –

officer and a family relative of President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. * Khaled Abdul Rahman al Zamel – a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

who initially defected to join the opposition forces, and in late September 2012 called on to abandon the insurgency against President

(accompanied by around 10 other former rebels). * Jihad Makdissi – Syrian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, 2 December 2012 (to the UK). * Adnan Salo – former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian Army , 9 December 2012 * Major General Abdulaziz al-Shalal – commander of Syria's Military Police, 25 December 2012. * Kamal Jamal Beyk – Former director of programming at the official SANA radio and the SANA online news website in Damascus, 28 December 2012 (to

). * Lama Al-Khadra – Former state-run radio station Radio Damascus

Journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, 28 December 2012 (to

) * Baddour Abdel Karim – former state-run radio station Radio Damascus

, 28 December 2012 (to

) *Maj. Gen Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf – chief of supplies and logistics of Syrian Armed Police Forces, 16 March 2013 (to

). * Sayf Bulad – former First Lieutenant in the Syrian Army * Anwar Raslan - former Syrian colonel who led a unit of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate. Fled to Jordan then sought Asylum in Germany, where in January 2022, he was convicted of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

in a German Higher Regional Court. There are many other diplomats not listed.

References

{{reflist

Defectors