Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 7 / Trend R.Hafizoglu /
The family of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will soon leave the country and will go to Russia, said the former head of the information bureau of the Syrian president's office, Omar Abdullah, who recently defected to the opposition, CNN Turk reports on Friday.
Omar said that in addition to Assad family, the families of two generals, Nafi Hatoum and Ahmed Al-Ali, will leave the country.
Anti-government protests have continued in Syria for over 17 months.
According to UN, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria is nearing 20,000 people. More than 230,000 people become refugees with around three million in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian authorities say they oppose the well-armed militants.