Activists around the world continue to protest the violence in Syria. (Syria Freedom, Creative Commons)

The Times reports:

“Following a pair of rebel assaults on the country's two main cities and a bombing that wiped out some of his top security last week advisors, President Bashar Assad on Tuesday reshuffled his top intelligence posts, dismissing one general and appointing a new national security council chief to replace the one killed in the blast.

“The Syrian regime, deeply shaken after last week's stunning attack on Assad's inner circle and rebel advances, has turned to heavy weapons like artillery and helicopter gunships to uproot the opposition fighters in Damascus and now in Aleppo, Syria's largest city at around 3 million.”

The government has also reportedly begun using fighter jets to drop bombs on Aleppo, while tanks target opposition fighters in Damascus. Homs has also been seized with violence – shelling has besieged the city once again.

According to Reuters, in Aleppo, Syrian troops “quelled a jail mutiny on the outskirts of the northern city, killing 15 prisoners, opposition activists said.” The report continues:

“The deaths in the prison mutiny were caused when Assad's forces used machineguns and teargas on inmates overnight, activists in contact with surviving prisoners said.”

Citizens of Aleppo are fleeing the violence, even though rebels reportedly hold half the city. In an attempt to drive the rebels back and regain control of Aleppo, the Syrian army, along with using fighter jets to drop bombs on the city, is using rockets and machineguns to battle the rebels, endangering the lives of residents.

One resident said, “Almost everyone has fled in panic, even my family. I have stayed to try to stop the looters, we hear they often come after an area is shelled.”

A rebel fighter claimed that about 60 people had been wounded so far, but “the battle is still in our favour. That is why the regime is using its air force. There is little we can do against it.”

Another resident reported, “It's the worst day of fighting in Aleppo so far, but I can't tell what's happening on the ground or who's in control.”

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of the violence in Syria here.

Reach Executive Producer Cara Palmer here; follow her here.