CRACKS IN SYRIA

CRACKS IN THE SYRIAN ELITE

 

 

 

Just about six weeks ago, on 08/08/2011, the Syrian defense minister and a member of Bashar Assad’s inner circle, General Ali Habib, was dismissed from his office. Initial rumors suggested he was shot and found dead in his home. After a few days general Ali Habib appeared in the Syrian TV, in plain clothes, looking a little confused and explained his dismissal as caused by his health problems. Gen. Ali Habib also thanked President Bashar Assad for the confidence he offered him during his military service, appreciating the important role of the Syrian Army’s soldiers and officers in defending the homeland. All together reminded as the style of the Stalinist period in Russia when all those seniors dismissed and then executed suffered actually just from health problems.

 

On Wednesday 08/31/2011 the General Attorney of Hama, one of the epicenters of the Syrian uprising, judge Adnan Bakkour appeared in a Youtube footage and said he resigned his position after a day earlier the Syrian state TV claimed he was actually kidnapped by 7 unidentified gunmen. “I announce my resignation from my position with the Assad regime and his gangs,” the judge said.

 

Syrian authorities, on Saturday 09/24/2011, said, through the official SANA news agency, that the Syrian army’s deputy chief of staff, General Bassam Najm Eddin Antakiali, “succumbed after suffering a heart attack” – the enouncement said.

 

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