Like a cornered animal, the Syrian regime has responded to threats to its survival by redoubling its efforts to brutally put down the uprising in the region.

On Monday night, more than 1,300 Syrians fled to Turkey to escape the civil war as defections by high-ranking regime officials continue. The regime is trying to claw back the territory it has lost in Damascus and other countries and is now deploying heavy weapons against the opposition Free Syrian Army. It is carnage.

It is not limited to Damascus either. Heavily-armed government troops have been steadily shelling rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo, particularly Salaheddine and other districts on the southwestern edge of the strategic city.

Intense government bombardment of Tal Rafaat close to the Syrian border has sent more than a thousand people fleeing into Turkey. Close to 48,000 Syrians have now found refuge in Turkey, which has served as a staging ground for rebels fighting Bashar Assad’s regime. It is feared that more than 20,000 people have been killed in the fighting that has now escalated into full-scale civil war.

A video posted online by activists yesterday showed a large group of Free Syrian Army rebels in military fatigues and carrying rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles. The fighters were seen announcing that they were joining the ‘Unification Brigade’, the main group of rebels in Aleppo, to assist in the “liberation” of the city. Although they lack nothing in courage, the rebels do lack the heavy weapons that the regime is deploying – including tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships.

The rebels, though, have not been discouraged. Despite the brutal crackdown, the Free Army on Saturday abducted a group of 48 Iranians near Damascus, branding them as spies assisting in Assad’s crackdown.

Iran said those captured when their bus was commandeered were pilgrims visiting a Shiite shrine on the outskirts of Damascus, promptly placing the blame on the US.

Meanwhile, just one day after the defection of his Prime Minister, President Assad tried to show that he still has friends, appearing on state television with senior Iranian envoy Saeed.

Assad has not spoken publicly since a bombing last week which claimed the life of his brother-in-law, and his low profile has raised speculation that he fears for his personal safety as the civil war escalates.

Sana quoted Assad as saying that the Syrian people and government are “intent on cleansing the country from terrorists and combating terrorism without leniency”.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, has upped the ante and stated that the urgency was not to plan for the event of Assad’s ouster. She said it is important to make sure that Syrian state institutions remain intact once Assad loses his grip on power. Libya has shown that doing so is not easy, though there is more of an infrastructure in Syria.