Fares, the latest high-level official to abandon Assad, in an interview on Al-Jazeera television also accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of taking a stance toward Syria that was "contradictory" to the truth.

"I personally reproach the (Iraqi) prime minister on his stance, which is contradictory to the truth," Fares said.

"He knows very well what Bashar al-Assad had done to him and to all of Iraq and to Shiites specifically," Fares said, adding that Assad has "killed thousands" by opening "the doors for Al-Qaeda" militants to carry out bombings across Iraq.

AFP