Syrian secret police defect as Arab deadline passes

AT least a dozen Syrian secret police have defected from an intelligence compound, activists said, in what appeared to be the first major desertion from a service that has acted as a pillar of President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

A gunfight broke out overnight after the defectors fled the Airforce Intelligence complex in the centre of Idlib city, 280km northwest of Damascus, and ten people on both sides were killed or wounded, the activists said.

The Arab League had told Syrian authorities to sign an initiative to end the military crackdown on popular protests by last night, and has threatened to impose financial and economic sanctions if it does not sign soon.