Yussuf Assad, a senior officer in the Syrian army and a relative of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has defected. In a video uploaded to Youtube, Yussuf Assad said he was joining rebel forces because he could no longer be part of the death and damage being caused by soldiers loyal to the president. “The army is destroying the homeland, the towns and the farms,” he said.
In attacks by Syrian troops on rebel forces, 127 people were killed Saturday.