Syria appoints new defence minister
Fahad Jassim al-Freij (front left) and Daoud Rajha (front right) with President Assad (centre) in this October 2011 file handout photo released to Reuters on July 18, 2012. They were at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus in a ceremony to mark the 38th anniversary of the 1973 October War with Israel. — Reuters picBEIRUT, July 18 — Syria appointed General Fahad Jassim al-Freij as defence minister, state television said, to replace Daoud Rajha who was killed in a bomb attack today.
Freij, who was previously the chief of staff of the armed forces, is from the province of Hama, a centre of unrest in the 16-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. — Reuters
