Syrian Prime Minister Took Longer to Defect than First Reported

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/GettyImages(DAMASCUS, Syria) -- The high-profile defection of former Syrian Prime Minister Riyad al-Hijab didn't happen when everyone was told about it.

Al Jazeera reported last Monday that al-Hijab, along with other ministers, military officials and their families, fled to Jordan, as the ex-prime minister said that he was through supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in its attempt to crush an 18-month-long rebellion.

The information came from the main rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, but as it turned out, the news was intended as a smoke screen because transporting al-Hijab and his entourage was more involved and dangerous than first believed.

To help facilitate the escape, the Free Syrian Army assisted the renegade Syrian official by using decoy cars and convoys to confuse the Syrian military who were thought to be looking for al-Hijab.

By Wednesday morning, the mission appeared accomplished as the minister for Jordan's media affairs declared that the former prime minister and the others had safely crossed the border into their country.

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