BEIRUT -- Syria's deputy oil minister appeared tense as he looked at the camera and announced in a video that he has defected from President Bashar Assad's regime, acknowledging he expects government forces to "burn my home" and "persecute my family."
Abdo Husameddine, a 58-year-old father of four, on Thursday became the highest-ranking civilian official to join the opposition, and he urged his countrymen to "abandon this sinking ship" as the nation spirals toward civil war.
In the YouTube video, Husameddine seemed to address Assad directly, accusing him of vast crimes in the past year as government forces pummel the opposition with tanks and snipers. The United Nations estimates 7,500 people have been killed since the uprising began.
"You have inflicted on those you claim are your people a full year of sorrow and sadness, denied them their basic rights to life and humanity, and pushed the country to the edge of the abyss," said Husameddine, wearing a dark suit and tie. He appeared to be reading from a script, casting his eyes down to find the words.
"I do not want to end my life servicing the crimes of this regime," he said. "I declare that I am joining the revolution of the dignified people."
The authenticity of the video could not be verified, and he did not disclose his location. Damascus did not comment on the video. According to a resume posted on the website of Syrian Oil and Gas News, Husameddine is married with four children, fluent in English and French, and studied petroleum engineering at al-Baath University. He was appointed by Assad in 2009.
Assad's regime has suffered a steady stream of low-level army defectors, who have joined a group of dissidents known as the Free Syrian Army, numbering in the thousands.
Brig. Gen. Mostafa Ahmad al-Sheik, who fled to Turkey in January, was the highest-ranking officer to bolt. In late August, Adnan Bakkour, the attorney general of the central city of Hama, appeared in a video announcing he had defected.
Authorities reported he had been kidnapped and said he was being kept against his will by gunmen. He has not been heard from since.
Open dissent is dangerous in Syria, a country that crushed any rumblings of defiance even before the popular revolt started to threaten the Assad family's 40-year dynasty.
The cohesion is built into the structure of the government. Assad, and his father who ruled before him, filled key military posts in the overwhelmingly Sunni country with members of their minority Alawite sect, ensuring loyalty by melding the fate of the army and the regime.
A stand for dignity
Husameddine's defection was a reminder of how airtight the regime has remained, particularly compared with the swift hemorrhaging of Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle.
Within weeks of the Libyan revolt last year, a number of Libyan ambassadors and other high-ranking officials quit the government, and many joined the opposition leadership. The early defection of huge sections of the army in eastern Libya gave the rebel movement a safe zone where they could freely organize their political and military strategies.
Husameddine appealed to other officials to follow his lead.
"I advise my colleagues who have been silent in the face of crimes for a year to abandon this sinking ship, which is about to drown," he said. "The blood of martyrs will not forgive those who continue to conspire with them under the justification that they are employees or carrying out orders."
He spoke to the Alawites, saying they have no reason to support the regime.
"I advise the Alawite community and say to them, 'the Syrian people is your safety net, and the regime will doubtlessly go, so don't be partners in killing your people,"' he said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington couldn't authenticate the video. But if Husameddine has defected, she said, it would be in keeping with the Obama administration's call "for senior members of the regime to break with Assad, refuse to stand with this brutal dictator, and instead stand up for the dignity of their people."
Military options considered
Husameddine's defection occurred at the height of international pressure against Assad's regime, with the United States considering options for military intervention.
Although there are widespread concerns that military action could cause a regional upheaval, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Obama has ordered a Pentagon review of options.
Dempsey said the options to be examined include enforcing a no-fly zone and humanitarian airlifts.
The presidents of Turkey and Tunisia, meeting in Tunis, said they are opposed to outside military intervention in Syria. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said regional powers should try to resolve the crisis.
Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, the special envoy to Syria, was expected in Damascus on Friday to try to end the violence.
"I hope that no one is thinking very seriously of using force in this situation," Annan said in Cairo. "I believe any further militarization would make the situation worse."
U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who on Wednesday got the first independent outside look at the Baba Amr district of Homs following a deadly monthlong siege, said she was struck by the devastation she saw.
"That part of Homs is completely destroyed, and I am concerned to learn what happened to the people in that part of the city," she said in the capital of Damascus, a relatively peaceful stronghold of Assad's regime.
Activists allege that Syrian forces conducted cleanup operations in Baba Amr, including execution-style killings and arrests.
