BBC News
6 August 2012
Last updated at 13:10 ET
Riad Hijab is from the Deir al-Zour area which has been a key battleground in the uprising
Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab has defected from President Bashar al-Assad's government to join "the revolution", his spokesman says.
Mr Hijab was appointed less than two months ago and his departure is the highest-profile defection since the uprising began in March 2011.
To read the rest of this story, visit BBC.co.uk
