The New York Times reports this unconfirmed story:

Syria's ambassador to Iraq was reported to have defected on Wednesday, which if confirmed would be the second prominent defection from President Bashar al-Assad's government in less than a week.

A high-ranking general in the elite Republican Guard, Manaf Tlass, a friend of Mr. Assad and the son of a former defense minister, fled Syria last Thursday.

The defection of the diplomat, Nawaf Fares, would be the first of a serving ambassador in 17 months of unrest. He was appointed to the Baghdad post four years ago and, like General Tlass, was a member of a privileged Sunni elite in a Syrian government dominated by Mr. Assad's minority Alawite sect.