Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal Head of Syria’s Military Police Defects
Major General Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, is one of the most important figures that has left the Syrian army.
As head of the Syrian Military police General Jassem al-Shallal’s defection is a clear sign of the difficulty forces loyal to the present president Bashar al-Assad are in.It is also a sign of growing problems among senior commanders of the Syrian army in regards to the civil war that has left countless Syrians dead or homeless.
General Jassem al-Shallal’s decision to leave the army comes at just a short time after harsher tactics have been adopted. The firing of high impact Scud missiles at rebel camps and basses being one of the most shocking turns this civil war has had.
Al-Shallal's defection comes shortly after 12 other high ranking Syrian military officers crossed over into Turkey on December 7th.In an interview with al-Arabiya satellite network Shallal said that a great deal of other Syrian military and political leaders would like to defect but are under tight surveillance from Syrian security forces.
He said “Many figures of high rank in the government want to defect, but the situation is not allowing them to”Jassem al-Shallal also said he had left the Syrian military because “the diversion of the army from its basic mission of protecting the country to become gangs of murder and destruction.”