Syrian general defects, Assad defiant A high-ranking Syrian general who once led a military intelligence office widely believed to be a torture site has defected from the army, he announced on Saturday, a day after the rebels' top military commander again called for members of the armed forces to join the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, now entering its third year. But there were no reports of unusually widespread or decisive defections in response to a video address in English and Arabic released on Friday by General Salim Idris, who defected last July and is now the leader of the Free Syrian Army's unified military command. Instead, Dr Assad's government went on the political offensive, calling on Brazil, China, India and other emerging powers to help stop the Syrian conflict and find a political solution to the uprising. Protests in Syria marking the uprising's second anniversary were small and muted compared with the exuberant demonstrations that initially set off the revolt, underscoring the growing sense that the war is nowhere near an end. The government is willing to use extreme force, and a political solution appears remote. The request for political support from developing nations was in a letter delivered by an Assad adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, to South Africa's President, who is hosting a meeting next week of the so-called BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. As Europe and the US weigh stronger action to aid the Syrian rebels, including directly arming them, Dr Assad appeared to be appealing to those nations' aversion to Western military intervention; all opposed the action that helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. "President Bashar al-Assad asks for intervention by the BRICS to stop the violence in his country and encourage the opening of a dialogue, which he wishes to start," Ms Shaaban told Agence France-Presse, adding that the South African President, Jacob Zuma, " deplored the destruction affecting this beautiful country." The uprising began peacefully, but elements of the opposition eventually took up arms after security forces fired on protesters. The new defector, the army's chief of supplies and logistics, Brigadier General Mohammed Nour Ezzedeen Khallouf, appeared briefly on Al Arabiya on Saturday. "Arrangements for the defection from the current Assad regime started a while ago," he said. There was co-ordination with several sides from various factions of the Syrian revolution. His acceptance into the rebels' ranks underscores their claim that they will welcome anyone who switches sides even now, so deep into the conflict. General Khallouf previously commanded the Palestine Branch of the military intelligence department, a Damascus headquarters where, according to rebels and watchdog groups, many opposition members have been tortured. Anti-government activists said that while his high rank was notable, his departure would not change things for the government, which could easily replace him. As the conflict continues, the Syrian government has increased its use of cluster bombs, widely banned because those that do not explode on impact often injure civilians who find them, the international watchdog group Human Rights Watch said in a report on Saturday. It was based on field investigations and an analysis of more than 450 videos posted online, largely by anti-government activists.