Al Jazeera reports that 33 members of the Syrian military, including one general and two colonels, have defected to Turkey. The defectors, who absconded overnight, included the 13th general to leave Syria since fighting began 16 months ago. Many of the former Syrian fighters have joined the Free Syrian Army, the main front of Syrian rebels.
The defections come just three days after Syria reportedly shot down a Turkish military jet over international waters. Turkey has called for an extraordinary NATO meeting on Tuesday, but Jihad Makdisi, a Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, said “the Turkish warplane violated Syrian airspace,” representing “a gross violation of Syrian sovereignty.”
