Alberto Prieto / AP Photo
The tables turned quickly in Aleppo on Monday, when Syrian Army forces launched fresh assaults after rebels captured a military base earlier in the day. Syrian officials told the BBC they had recaptured one area from the rebels, who maintained they were still battling for the region. The U.N. reported an increase in violence in Aleppo on Monday that included heavy fighting on the ground and helicopter gunships after a week of sporadic shelling and aerial attacks. Syria’s most senior diplomat in London, Chargé d’Affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi, announced that he has left his post and denounced the regime for committing “such violent and oppressive acts against its own people.” Speaking in Tunisia, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CNN that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should "get the hell out now."