By Jamal Halaby

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The Syrian prime minister who defected to the opposition said Tuesday that President Bashar Assad’s regime was near collapse and urged other political and military leaders to tip the scales and join the rebel side.
The comments by Riad Hijab were his first public statements since leaving his post and fleeing to Jordan with his family last week. Mr. Hijab is the highest-ranking political figure to defect from Mr. Assad’s regime.
“The regime is on the verge of collapse morally and economically, in addition to cracks in the military,” Mr. Hijab told a press conference in the Jordanian capital, Amman.