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Syrian general allied with Assad defects
A Syrian general and friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Thursday and is seeking to go to France, according to reports.
A friend of Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlas, who headed a unit of Syria’s elite Republican Guard, left Syria and arrived in Turkey on Thursday, Reuters reported.
“He left Syria and arrived yesterday in Turkey. He wants to come to France to join his family," the friend told Reuters by telephone from Paris.
News of the defection was first reported on the pro-Assad website Syria Steps, which said he made an “escape,” calling his leave “insignificant,” according to the BBC.
"Even those close to Assad have begun to understand that one cannot support a slaughterer like Bashar al-Assad," Fabius said.
The defection comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Paris for the “Friends of Syria” conference, the latest in a series of meetings between nations hoping to find a solution to the crisis in Syria.
Russia and China, who have blocked further United Nations action in Syria, did not attend the meeting.
