[Dawn] Syria's deputy oil minister resigned on Thursday, becoming the most bigwig to join the rebel ranks, as Washington revealed it is considering non-lethal aid to the insurgency.The boost for the rebels came as UN-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
special envoy Kofi Annan appealed in Cairo to Syria's opposition to join his mission's efforts to resolve the conflict that has left thousands dead in the past year.
Abdo Hussameddin announced his resignation in a video posted by activists on YouTube, saying he was joining the revolt.
"I, the engineer Abdo Hussameddin, the deputy oil minister... announce my defection from the regime and my resignation," he said in the video.
"I am joining the revolution of the people who reject injustice and the brutal campaign of the regime, which is seeking to crush the people's demand for freedom and dignity," he added.
The defection was quickly welcomed by Syrian opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun, who told AFP he expects more government officials and politicians to do the same.
"I hail the deputy (oil) minister who defected and I call on all government members and public servants ... to abandon this regime and join the ranks of the revolution for freedom and dignity," said Ghalioun, head of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group.
"I expect for sure that there are other government officials and politicians who will follow suit," he added.