A Syrian boy waves the Syrian revolutionary flag during a celebration to commemorate the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution, in Amman, Jordan, Friday, March, 15, 2013. Around a thousand Syrians gathered in front of the Syrian embassy, and chanted slogans against Assad, and the Baath regime that has ruled Syria for the last 40 years. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)
A Syrian boy waves the Syrian revolutionary flag during a celebration to commemorate the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution, in Amman, Jordan, Friday, March, 15, 2013. Around a thousand Syrians gathered in front of the Syrian embassy, and chanted slogans against Assad, and the Baath regime that has ruled Syria for the last 40 years. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)
Anti-Syrian regime protesters hold placards near the Pantheon during a protest to mark the second anniversary of the uprising, in Paris, France, Friday March 15, 2013. France and Britain are pushing for the arms embargo to be scrapped in following demands by the opposition for heavy weapons to fight President Assad's forces. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
Syrian protester blows bubbles during a celebration to commemorate the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution, in Amman, Jordan, Friday, March 15, 2013. Around a thousand Syrians gathered in front of the Syrian embassy, and chanted slogans against Assad, and the Baath regime that has ruled Syria for the last 40 years. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)
BEIRUT (AP) ? A high-ranking general in the Syrian army says he has defected with the help of rebel fighters.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf said in an interview Saturday with Al-Arabiya TV that he had left the regime and that morale inside the armed forces was bad.
Activist videos posted online show Khalouf sitting with a rebel fighter after his defection and riding in a car to what the video said was the Jordanian border.
The videos appear authentic and are consistent with other reporting by The Associated Press.
While widespread defections from the Syrian army have sapped it of much of its manpower during the two-year-old anti-Assad uprising, high-level defections have been rare.
The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Associated Pressgrenada Sikh Sanya Richards Ross decathlon Honey Boo Boo Child marilyn monroe Nathan Adrian
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