Embattled Assad names new minister

Syrian president Bashar Assad replaced his defence minister with the army chief of staff in the midst of a brutal military crackdown on a five-month-old uprising, the state-run news agency said.

General Ali Habib, the country’s defence minister since 2009, was removed from his post because of health problems, the Sana report said, but some analysts said the general was unhappy with the crackdown.

He was replaced by General Dawoud Rajha, a 64-year-old Christian, Sana said. The agency did not say who will succeed Gen Rajha as chief of staff. His deputy is Major General Assef Shawkat, who is married to Mr Assad’s sister, Bushra.

The army has played a leading role in the bloody crackdown, shelling cities with heavy weapons and tanks.

Yesterday, the military renewed its assault on Deir el-Zour, unleashing artillery fire on the eastern town, a day after at least 42 people were killed there. And in the southern city of Deraa, security forces killed at least three people at a funeral, activists said.

The bloodshed has drawn sharp condemnation from abroad, and Arab nations joined the growing international chorus against Mr Assad’s regime, with Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia recalling their ambassadors.

The international community already has imposed sanctions on the regime - including on Gens Habib and Rajha – and demanded an immediate end to the attacks. France, Italy and Germany renewed their condemnation.