The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has suffered the first known defection from its diplomatic ranks. In a statement to the news network Al Jazeera, Syria’s ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf al-Fares, announced his resignation and his new allegiance to Syria’s rebels.

Nawaf al-Fares: “I’m announcing my resignation as Syria’s ambassador to Iraq. I’m also announcing my withdrawal from the Ba’ath Party, and I call on all party members to do the same, because the regime has used it as a tool to oppress the people and their aspirations to freedom and dignity. I’m announcing, from this moment on, that I’m siding with the revolution in Syria. It’s my natural place in these difficult circumstances which Syria is going through.”