BREAKING NEWS

Al Arabiya statement: Syrian vice president said to defect

BEIRUT - Al-Arabiya TV broadcast a statement on Thursday said to be in the name of Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara in which he declared his defection from President Bashar Assad's administration.
In the statement, read by a man Al-Arabiya identified as a relative of the Sunni Muslim vice president, Shara called on the army to join "the revolution" against Assad's rule. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the statement.