The defection of Syria’s prime minister shows President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of the country and that his people believe his days are numbered, US officials said yesterday.

Prime Minister Riyad Hijab slipped across the border into Jordan on Sunday night and announced he was joining rebels in the highest-ranking defection of the 17-month uprising against Assad’s rule.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said reports of the defection of Hijab and senior officials were “just the latest indication that Assad has lost control of Syria and that the momentum is with the opposition forces and the Syrian people”.

“It’s clear that these defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and demonstrate that the Syrian people believe Assad’s days are numbered.

“The quickest way to end the bloodshed and suffering of the Syrian people is for Bashar al-Assad to recognise that the Syrian people will not allow him to continue in power.”

Vietor called on all nations to work towards a peaceful transition in Syria to a government reflecting the aspirations of its people.

Acting State Department deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell welcomed the recent defections, which he said also included Syria’s first cosmonaut and a senior intelligence officer.

He said the defections “indicate that the regime is crumbling and losing its grip on power”.

“We would encourage others to join them in rejecting the horrific actions of the Assad regime, in helping to chart a new path for Syria—one that is peaceful, democratic, inclusive and just,” he added.

“The reality on the ground is changing as the opposition seems to gather strength and as the control of the security of the whole country starts to slip away from the Assad regime.”

The White House repeated the US call for Assad to step aside and end the violence gripping the country.

“This is a sign that Assad’s grip on power is loosening. If he cannot maintain cohesion within his own inner circle, it reflects on his inability to maintain any following among the Syrian people that isn’t brought about at the point of a gun,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.

“The momentum is with the opposition and with the Syrian people. It’s clear that these defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and Assad cannot restore his control over the country because the Syrian people will not allow it,” he said.

The latest defection “only reinforces that the Assad regime is crumbling from within and that the Syrian people believe that Assad’s days are numbered,” Carney said.

The US has sought to increase pressure on Assad to leave power for more than a year.

US intelligence officials expect pro-Assad and opposition forces to be in the fight for the long haul and are not predicting a near-term end to the Syrian conflict.
But US officials say the defections are making a dent.

“It stands to reason that mounting defections are taking a psychological toll on the regime,” a US official said on condition of anonymity. “There’s probably a range of motivations for why people are breaking with Assad, from self-preservation to an inability to tolerate his ruthless tactics.”