GENEVA – Syria's top representative at the UN Human Rights Council said Monday he had defected because he no longer felt able in that position to do anything for the Syrian people. “Basically, when I felt I could not help my people any more I had to move on,” Danny Al-Baaj, the first Syrian diplomat in Switzerland to abandon Bashar Al-Assad's regime, said. “When I was involved in any negotiations (on Syria) my concern was to protect the country not the government,” he added. Baaj said he took his decision a long time ago and had been in contact with Syrian opposition group the Democratic Forum based in Paris. He had been in Geneva for two years and met the opposition group “some time ago”, before announcing his resignation last Friday, he said. “I met the charge d'affaires (of Syria in Geneva) and I told him I had made my decision that I was going to the opposition... He said it was my choice and he wished me luck.” Speaking from Geneva where he is considering his next move, Baaj described the Democratic Forum as one of the main opposition groups. It is headed by Michel Kilo, a long-time opponent of the regime. The development comes ahead of the release Wednesday of an official UNHRC independent commission of inquiry report into Syria. Baaj said he “hoped” the Geneva-based body would make progress towards consensus on the situation in Syria despite many countries letting their own agendas interfere with finding a solution. “At the last session the HRC was very close to reaching consensus ... I hope different countries put aside their agendas to help the Syrian people,” he said. Baaj also stressed his opposition to outside military intervention in the conflict but supported the role of the UN's Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), calling it “a good thing”. “I hope it stays there. It's very important to document abuses by both sides,” he said. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels claimed they downed a fighter jet in what would be a major coup for the opposition but the regime seized the upper hand in Aleppo as it advanced into a new rebel-held district. Government forces also bombarded areas around Damascus and launched a wide sweep of the capital, including its once-bustling historic Old City, while shocking videos emerged showing alleged rebel atrocities in the Aleppo area. State media said a military plane on a training mission crashed in the east of the country after suffering a malfunction and that the pilot had ejected. But the Free Syrian Army, which has been calling for the international community to arm it with anti-aircraft weapons as it battles escalating regime attacks from the sky, claimed it shot down the Russian-made MiG in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. “With God's help, a MiG 23 plane was downed in Muhasen on Monday morning, by the hands of the Ahfad Mohammed (Grandchildren of Mohammed) Brigade,” said Captain Abul Laith, whose group is part of the FSA. – Agencies
