A top Syrian general has reportedly defected from President Bashar al-Assad's government, telling an Arabic news station in an interview that aired Saturday that morale among security forces in Syria is at a low.

The reported defection followed the United Nations announcement that one of its employees, a teacher, was killed during fighting between rebels and government forces at a refugee camp outside Damascus.

If confirmed, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf's defection is the latest in a series of such moves by high-profile government officials, raising questions about the stability of al-Assad's government two years into the civil war gripping the country.

Khalouf, head of logistics and supply for the Syrian army, told the Arabic news network Al Arabiya that many tied to al-Assad's government have lost faith, but continue to pledge their allegiance to the president.

"It is only for appearance's sake to present an image to the international community showing that the regime is the one that pulls together all segments of Syrian society under."

Khalouf told Al Arabiya he had been working with rebels to defect. He appeared in the interview with his son, a Syrian army captain, who defected with him.

There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian government on the reported defection, which follows the two-year anniversary of the uprising.

Rebels posted what they claim are two videos on YouTube that offer proof that they helped Khalouf and his family escape Syria through Daraa province into Jordan.

CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the videos, but Al Arabiya reported the interview with Khalouf was conducted in Jordan.

U.N. employee killed at camp

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees confirmed Saturday that a member of its teaching staff was killed Wednesday trying to flee the fighting at the Khan Eshieh refugee camp in Syria.

Nasri Khalil Hasan was killed while trying to make his way with his wife and four children to a makeshift shelter after the camp was reportedly struck by an artillery shell, the UNRWA said in a statement.

Hasan was hit by shrapnel from a subsequent explosion, it said.

Because the hospital at the refugee camp was not open, he was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Jdaydeh, according to the UNRWA. He died at the hospital the next day, the agency said.

Cluster bombs linked to civilian casualties

The news of Khalouf's apparent defection and the death of Hasan came the same day a human rights group accused Syrian forces of using an increasing number of cluster bombs in residential areas.

Human Rights Watch says its researchers have identified 119 locations across Syria, where at least 156 cluster bombs have been used from August to mid-February.

The result is "mounting civilian casualties," the rights group said.

Human Rights Watch said it has investigated two cluster bomb attacks in the past two weeks -- in Deir Jamal, near Aleppo, and Talbiseh, near Homs.

These attacks killed 11 civilians, including two women and five children, and injured 27 others, the rights group said.