Syrian diplomat in Geneva defects

A Syrian diplomat at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva confirmed on Monday that he had left his post to join the opposition, according to Swiss media. Danny al-Baaj said he had been planning his defection for some time, and that he had been in contact with an opposition group. Al-Baaj is one of the first Syrian envoys in Europe to switch sides. "I sensed that I could no longer be of service to my country from the government side," he told Swiss news agency SDA. Since the outbreak of the uprising in Syria almost a year ago , several military and police leaders and officials had defected their units and join the popular upirising of the syrian opposition free army and many of them had already defected to Turkey .