Syria Civil War: First Pictures of Defector PM Riyad HIjab with Rebels

Pictures of Syria's former prime minister Riyad Hijab surrounded by members of the opposition Free Syrian Army have emerged as a spokesman for the Jordanian government revealed that he arrived in Jordan on Wednesday.

Two days after hiding in a "safe location" inside Syria near the border, Hijab managed to escape with the joint efforts of the Free Syrian Army and the Jordanian army.

The pictures purportedly show Hijab while still in Syria sitting on cushions in a room surrounded by children and young men. He is wearing a black suit and white shirt with no tie and appears relaxed.

"The Al-Motassem Billah Battalion is preparing the prime minister to go out to Jordan," a voice on the video says, presumably referring to a unit of the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Previously described as "a staunch Assad loyalist and key member of the ruling Ba'ath Party", Hijab switched sides to the rebel earlier this week.

He became the highest-ranking government official to break from Assad's regime in a move that emboldened the opposition and raised fresh questions about the government's ability to win a civil war.

Meanwhile, a team of French military doctors is heading to the Syria-Jordan border to build a mobile hospital for refugees. About 25 medical staff will treat the wounded.

Assad has appointed health minister Wael al-Halki as Syria's new prime minister. Born in 1964, Halki is from the southern province of Dera'a where the 17-month unrest first erupted.