Amid the defection of several high-ranking government officials, Syrian President Basher Assad appointed three new ministers and a governor for the embattled province of Aleppo on Thursday according to Syrian state media.
The Syrian president appointed Dr. Adnan Abdo al-Sukhni as Minister of Industry, Najm hamad al-Ahmad as Minister of Justice and Saa'd Abdel-Salam al-Nayef as Minister of Health.
Mohammad Waheed Aqqad, former deputy minister of Aleppo, was appointed as governor of the province, which includes Syria's biggest city and a flashpoint between Assad and rebel forces.
Assad is in the midst of battling a popular uprising and defections from within his regime; the death toll from the uprising is estimated to be as high as 22,000 according to opposition sources.
