Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.18 / Trend, A.Taghiyeva /
Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa joined the opposition and fled to Jordan, Al Arabiya TV channel reports with reference to the Syrian opposition.
It is reported that al-Sharaa disappeared about ten days ago and did not want to tell about his joining the opposition until he found asylum in Jordan. Yesterday it was reported that Vice-President's cousin joined the opposition.
Recently Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab and two ministers announced about their joining the opposition. Hijab with his family members and another 10 families from his nearest milieu fled to Jordan.
Earlier the ambassadors of Syria to Iraq, Cyprus, Belarus and the UAE and a number of senior military officials announced about joining the opposition.
Anti-government protests have continued in Syria for about 17 months.
According to UN, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria has exceeded 17,000 people. About 230,000 people became refugees. About three million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian authorities say that they oppose the well-armed militants.