12/07/2012 10:47
Syria's ambassador to Iraq has defected to opposition
Syria's ambassador to Iraq has defected to the opposition and urged other senior Syrian politicians and members of the military to do the same, the BBC reports.
Nawaf Fares is the first senior Syrian diplomat to abandon the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
The move comes just a week after a Syrian general from a powerful family close to President Assad also defected.
Meanwhile Western nations are urging the UN to threaten tough sanctions against Syria.
They want the threat to be part of a Security Council resolution on the future of the UN's observer mission in the country. A new resolution must be passed before the mission's mandate ends on Friday next week.