Syria: Senior Army Defector Executed As 62 Die In Clashes

A statement by the Syrian Association for the Defense of Human Rights claimed on Sunday that soldiers from the Air Intelligence carried out the death sentence by firing squad against army dissident Hussein Harmoush. The Association said the news about the execution came from Syrian military sources. It demanded that the authorities hand over his body to his family for burial in accordance with the legal rules.

Harmoush appeared in a video in June 2011 denouncing his government and calling on fellow soldiers to rebel. Al-Harmoush disappeared from a refugee camp where he had been living in Turkey on August 29. Then he appeared on Syria TV, contradicting previous statements he had made, saying that “during my service in the Syrian army, nobody ordered me to fire at civilians.”

Meanwhile, according to human rights activists across the country on Sunday at least 62 people were killed, including 27 civilians. Most of the dead have been reported in fighting around Damascus. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights organization reported on fierce battles in the suburbs of Damascus. Government troops were able to penetrate some areas, but in others they faced strong resistance from the opposition.