85 Syrian soldiers defect to Turkey

Group led by general, colonel, several captains is one of the largest to cross the border yet

CAIRO (AP) — Another 85 Syrian soldiers, including a general, fled to Turkey on Monday in a growing wave of defections.

Turkey’s state-run Andolou news agency said the group of defectors also included 14 other officers, ranging from one colonel to seven captains. It is one of the largest groups of Syrian army defectors to cross into Turkey since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began.

The conflict has killed more than 14,000 people since the revolt began in March 2011, according to opposition estimates. The fighting has grown increasingly militarized in recent months, with rebel forces launching attacks and ambushes on regime targets.

Thousands of soldiers, most of them low-level conscripts, have deserted and joined the rebels. The 85 soldiers who crossed over to Turkey on Monday followed 33 others, including a general and two colonels, who did the same a week earlier, in a sign that high-level defections appear to be increasing.

Although the defections are notable, Assad’s regime has remained remarkably airtight, particularly compared with the hemorrhaging of Gadhafi’s inner circle in Libya in 2011.

Assad has refused to budge, saying his country is at war with terrorists — the term he uses for his armed opponents. On Monday, he ratified a new terrorism law that includes a clause specifically aimed at the opposition. Under the law, the penalty for terrorism that aims to change the regime would exceed 20 years of hard labor.

As the conflict drags on, concerns are mounting that the violence will spiral outside the country’s borders. Tensions already are running high between Damascus and Ankara after Syria shot down a Turkish military plane on June 22.

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Kennedy reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.