Damascus: Suleiman Qaddah deputy chairman of the NPF

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has appointed the former assistant secretary general of the Baath party, Suleiman Qaddah, as his deputy in presiding over the National Progressive Front.

Several days ago, Qaddah was taken out of the membership of the Baath Party regional leadership, following the elections of the 10th regional congress held two weeks earlier.

"The all for Syria" news bulletin said in its Sunday issue that appointing Qaddah as a deputy chairman for the National Progressive Front without assuming the post of the vice president (though the President of the Republic is the president of the Front), in contrary to the role played by former deputy chairman of the front Muhammad Zuheir Masharqa, who by his turn got out of the regional leadership in the elections of the 10th congress.

The news bulletin said that both Masharqa and Khaddam were removed from their posts as vice presidents in Syria.