By Sam Greenhill PUBLISHED: 03:57 EST, 30 July 2012 | UPDATED: 18:45 EST, 30 July 2012 Walk-out: Charge d'affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi told the British authorities that he was 'no longer willing' to represent the Syrian government at the embassy in London Syria's most senior diplomat to Britain yesterday defected in ‘revulsion’ at the violence. He deserted his post as a refugee crisis erupted in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Khaled al-Ayoubi, the charge d’affaires in London, told the Foreign Office he could no longer represent President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime. More than 200,000 have fled Aleppo after Assad unleashed helicopter gunships and fighter jets on rebels who had seized swathes of the city.
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Khaled al-Ayoubi now staying in safe location in UK
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Foreign Office urges others to disassociate themselves from Syrian regime
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More than 200,000 people have fled their homes in Aleppo after gunfire and many more are trapped
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Civilians caught up in the fighting have been forced to crowd together in buildings and basements to escape the heavy shelling
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UN requests secure access for those who need to provide relief
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British expert claims fighting is unique in that both sides are strong enough to avoid defeat but none is strong enough to subdue the other
The Foreign Office said: ‘Mr @placeholder has told us that he is no longer willing to represent a regime that has committed such violent and oppressive acts against its own people.