Syrian PM quits and flees country

Syria’s prime minister has defected to Jordan with his family after less than two months in the post.

Riad Hijab was joined by three other cabinet ministers, according to Syrian rebel sources.

They are the first cabinet ministers to defect, underlining the cracks in Bashar Assad’s regime, which is now reaching beyond the military ranks.

Syrian state-run TV said that Mr Hijab was fired from his post.

He is a former agriculture minister and a loyalist in Assad’s ruling Baath party.