Over 70 Syria officers defect

DAMASCUS: More than 70 Syrian military officers have defected to the opposition and crossed into Turkey, an official there said yesterday. The defection of 71 army officers and two policemen came over a period of 36 hours, the Turkish official told AFP.
The group included six generals and 22 colonels, the official added, and was the highest-level defection in months. On the ground, Syrian regime forces bombed rebel positions around Damascus yesterday.