Syria's defected prime minister said Tuesday that Bashar Assad's regime was near collapse and urged other political and military leaders to tip the scales and join the opposing fighters' side. "The regime is on the verge of collapse morally and economically," Riad Hijab told a news conference in his first public comments since leaving his post and fleeing to Jordan with his family last week. He said he felt "pain in his soul" over the regime's shelling and other attacks on the opposing fighters' strongholds as the government stepped up its military offensive. Activists say more than 20,000 people been killed in the struggle since March 2011. "I was powerless to stop the injustice," he said, speaking in front of the opposing fighters' flag. He called on "honorable leaders" in Syria to defect, according to a report of the Associated Press. "Syria is full of honorable officials and military leaders who are waiting for the chance to join the revolution," he said.
