Assad picks new premier from ruling party to replace defector

Assad appointed Wael Nader al-Halqi, elevating him from the post of health minister, according to state-run news agency SANA.

Mr Halqi is a member of Mr Assad’s ruling Ba’ath party and hails from the southern city of Daraa, birthplace of the Syrian uprising.

The 48-year-old held the post of secretary general of the Daraa branch of the Ba’ath party from 2000-2004. He was appointed head of the doctors’ syndicate in 2010.

The former premier, Riad Hijab, completed his defection by crossing into Jordan on Wednesday. His defection was a humiliating blow for Mr Assad’s regime.

Activists say clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels are raging in the opposition bastion of Saleheddine and other districts of the besieged city of Aleppo.

The fighting comes just a day after Assad’s regime claimed in state-run media that its forces have fully regained control of Salaheddine.

The Local Co-ordination Committees and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday’s shelling was most focused on Salaheddine, as well as a north-east district and areas in the city’s south-west.

Syria launched a ground assault on Wednesday on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the country’s largest city and key commercial hub.

The regime’s blistering attacks on rebel positions in recent weeks seem to have chipped away at the opposition’s grip on its strongholds in the city.

Meanwhile Russia’s foreign ministry says Moscow will attend talks on the Syrian crisis organised by Iran.

The ministry said Russia would be represented by its ambassador in Tehran yesterday’s talks did go ahead, adding that the meeting was called at short notice, leaving little time to prepare.

Russia in the past has urged the West to allow Tehran to take part in international discussions on how to settle the crisis, arguing that the Islamic republic could play an important role.

Russia has been the main protector and ally of President Assad’s regime, shielding it from the United Nations sanctions over its brutal crackdown on an uprising that evolved into a full-blown civil war.

Meanwhile, Libya’s first elected assembly has met for the first time, poised to taking over from the transitional council that has ruled since Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow last year.

The 200-member assembly convened on the anniversary of the liberation of capital Tripoli.

Fireworks lit the evening sky over the city as Libyans broke their Ramadan fast.