Defected Syrian ambassador in Qatar, says Iraqi foreign minister

The Syrian Ambassador to Baghdad who defected to the opposition yesterday is now in Qatar, the Iraqi Foreign Minister has told the media.

“He has not defected while in Iraq … He had left Iraq and today he has an interview with al-Jazeera (television) in Qatar,” Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told reporters in Paris.

Former Ambassador Nawaf Fares – who announced his defection on Al Jazeera – is the first senior diplomat to abandon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 

The Syrian government announced today that Mr Fares has been “relieved of his duties” in Iraq. 

Credit: Photo by freedomhouse2