ANTAKYA, Turkey – A top Syrian general and one-time confidante of President Bashar al-Assad has defected and fled Syria, becoming the closest member of the leader’s inner circle to switch sides during the 16-month uprising.
Sipan Hassan of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP his activist group learned from journalists and security sources in Syria that Manaf Tlas has left the country.
Tlas served as a brigadier general in Assad’s elite Republican Guards and is the son of a former Syrian defense minister.
The activist said Colonel Riad al-Assad of the opposition Free Syrian Army announced on Thursday that Tlas is in Turkey.
Turkey has not confirmed that Tlas is in that country.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed on Friday that Tlas, who attended military college with the 46-year-old Assad, had defected and was bound for Paris.
Tlas is the son of Mustafa Tlas, who served as defence minister for 30 years under former president Hafez al-Assad and briefly under his son, the current president.
A witness in Damascus said by telephone that Tlas’ house in Damascus was ransacked on Thursday by security agents after these reports.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity from Washington, said, “General Tlas is a big name and his apparent decision to ditch Assad hurts, even though it probably didn’t come as a surprise”.
“Tlas lately seems to have been on the outs, but he’s got charisma and some smarts. If he joins the insurgents, that could be significant,” the official said.
Western and Middle Eastern news sources, as well as Syrian opposition groups, have also have reported the general’s defection.
Hollande also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at the meeting, also denounced the Assad regime. She said it is against
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