Syria ex-premier says Assad controls only 30% of country

BEIRUT — The regime of President Bashar Assad is near collapse and now controls only 30% of Syria, the country’s former prime minister said Tuesday in his first comments since defecting to Jordan last week.

The comments by Riyad Farid Hijab, the highest-ranking official to defect from the Syrian government, came as the bloodshed in the country continued. Activists said at least 60 people were killed Tuesday, including at least six children.

“The regime is on the verge of collapse morally, financially and economically in addition to cracks in the military,” Hijab said at a news conference televised from the Jordanian capital, Amman.

He urged other political and military leaders to defect and join the rebel side and called on the exiled opposition to unite.

But in making his comments, Hijab sought to assure those in the opposition that he was not seeking a political position now or in a free Syria, which he predicted would come soon. “I consider myself a soldier in the path of righteousness,” he said.

Opposition members and rebel leaders who began calling for Assad’s ouster 17 months ago have both welcomed and regarded with some suspicion some of the former higher-ranking political and military officials who have joined the cause only recently.

Assad’s regime has been battling the uprising with both military forces and pro-government militias. In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panettasaid that Iran is providing military training to one of the militias, part of a growing effort by Tehran to prevent armed rebels from driving an ally from power.

“We are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep concern,” Panetta told reporters at a Pentagon news conference. “We do not think Iran ought to be playing that role. It adds to the killing.”

The militia, known as the Army of the People, has emerged as a force over the last year as Syria’s military has struggled to put down the rebellion. Its fighters are drawn mainly from the Shiite and Alawite sects, which form the core of the regime’s support against the largely Sunni Muslim-driven revolt. It wasn’t immediately clear where, or how large, the militia is.

United Nations emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos arrived Tuesday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, as part of a three-day trip to the region to discuss humanitarian aid for those trapped by the escalating combat or forced to flee their homes. Amos’ visit came a day after activists said more than 150 people across the country were killed in the conflict.

Amos is to meet with Syrian authorities, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other humanitarian groups to discuss ways to urgently increase relief efforts and reduce civilian suffering. In Lebanon, she will meet with Syrian refugee families and discuss with the Lebanese government and relief organizations how best to support them.

As fighting in recent weeks has stepped up in areas where people had previously sought refuge — including Damascus and Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub — nowhere in the country now seems safe.

The United Nations estimates that 2 million people have been affected by the conflict between government forces and rebels and more than 1 million have been internally displaced. More than 140,000 people have fled the violence and crossed into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations monitoring mission said that the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by Assad’s forces as well as targeted attacks by the opposition is increasing.

“It is clear that violence is increasing in many parts of Syria,” said Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye of Senegal, speaking at a news conference in Damascus. “Our patrols are monitoring the impact of this violence, visiting internally displaced people and hospitals.”

The monitoring mission has intensified its efforts to negotiate “local pauses” to allow assistance to civilians, Gaye said. Monitors suspended their regular patrols and monitoring activities in mid-June as the violence escalated.

“The conflict has gone on too long and far too many people are suffering,” he said.

The U.N. monitoring mission, which began in April and has been criticized for doing nothing to quell the bloodshed, has less than a week remaining before its authorization expires.

“We will continue to the last minute of our mandate to urge the parties to move from confrontation to dialogue,” he said.

Times staff writer David S. Cloud in Washington contributed to this report.