Syrian PM defects to rebels as Aleppo assault intensifies

Syria’s prime minister has defected to the opposition seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, marking one of the highest profile desertions from the Damascus government.

Syrian state television said Riyad Hijab had been fired, but a Jordanian official said he had been dismissed only after he fled with his family.

The defection came as government forces appeared to prepare a ground assault to clear battered rebels from Aleppo, the country’s biggest city.