White House: Assad displaying ’depth of depravity’

(AP) ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE - The White House says the Syrian government’s assault on the city of Aleppo with tanks and airplanes illustrates what it called "the depth of depravity" by the regime of President Bashar Assad.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration has seen "credible" reports about the regime’s use of military hardware in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Carney said Assad was using its forces to "perpetrate heinous violence" against the city’s civilian population.

Carney also pointed to defections by Syrian ambassadors to Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates are an indication that officials in Assad’s circle are "fleeing government because of the heinous actions taken by Assad."

Assad has used helicopters in fighting rebels in the past, but reports Wednesday cited by Carney included the use of "fixed-wing aircraft" such as military planes.